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Local officials: Putnam up to 891 COVID-19 cases
Putnam County officials announced Friday there have been 891 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county since March.
Putnam County is currently at a 5.4 percent positivity rate. For a further breakdown of cases, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov.
The positive case number also may include positive cases at the state correctional facility located in Putnam County. To learn more, visit https://www.in.gov/idoc/3780.htm.
Putnam County Hospital continues to offer curbside COVID testing. To schedule your appointment please go to https://scheduling.coronavirus.in.gov Testing hours are Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. If you have any further questions please call the COVID hotline at 301-7019.
Putnam County Hospital asks that patients arrive no earlier than five minutes before their scheduled test to help with the flow of traffic. When a patient arrives they will follow the COVID-19 testing signs. These signs will direct them to the proper testing area.
If you have been tested and are awaiting results, remember to follow the necessary precautions to help slow the spread. Here are some helpful tips and reminders from the CDC.
• Stay home and away from others:
• Stay away from others while waiting for your COVID-19 test result, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19, such as older adults and people with other medical conditions, if possible.
• If you have been around someone with COVID-19, stay home and away from others for 14 days (self-quarantine) after your last contact with that person and monitor your health.
• If you have a fever, cough or other symptoms of COVID-19, stay home and away from others (except to get medical care).
• If you need support or assistance while in self-quarantine, your health department or community organizations may be able to provide assistance.
Monitor your health:
Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19. Remember, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to COVID-19.
Think about the people you have recently been around. While you wait for your COVID-19 test result, think about everyone you have been around recently. This will be important information to have available. If your test is positive, someone from the health department may call you to check on your health, discuss who you have been around, and ask where you spent time while you may have been able to spread COVID-19 to others.
What else can I do right now to help prevent the spread of influenza and the flu?
Avoid close contact. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.
Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent you from spreading your illness to others.
Cover your mouth and nose. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Flu and other serious respiratory illnesses are spread by cough, sneezing or unclean hands.
Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives Tips on hand washing and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers
It’s a SNAP Toolkit: Handwashing Hand washing resources from the It’s a SNAP program, aimed at preventing school absenteeism by promoting clean hands; from the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention, a collaborative project of the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cleaning Institute.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when people touch something that is contaminated with germs and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.
Wear a mask. Masks can reduce the transmission of all respiratory illnesses, including the flu.
Practice other good health habits. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.
Putnam County is providing regular updates on COVID-19 to citizens as part of its effort to complement the daily updates from the Indiana State Dept. of Health. The updates can be accessed via www.coronavirus.in.gov.
To learn more about Putnam County’s coordinated response to COVID-19, please visit the Putnam County Hospital at www.pchosp.org/covid-19-updates or the Putnam County Health Department at www.putnamhealthindiana.org.