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HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Over the 4th of July Weekend, the Hill County Health Department announced the second confirmed COVID-19 case in Hill County.
The case was that of a woman in her 30s who had not traveled outside of the county.
As of this morning, the health department has finished performing all contact tracing for this case and has notified all possible contacts.
No information on the number of notified contacts has been released.
Hill County Health Director Kim Larson said if you were notified you will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine regardless if your test is positive or negative.
“If you were identified as a close contact to a case, which means you were within 6 feet of this person for at least 15 minutes or longer at a time, then we follow the CDC recommendations and all those close contacts get a test and they are quarantined for 14 days. Regardless of whether or not their test is positive or negative they remain in quarantine for 14 days, because symptoms may show up on day twelve and not day two.”
Larson said every close contact that has been identified has been notified by the health department. Due to this, Larson would like to reinforce the fact that if you have not been contacted, you do not need to worry as this means you are not considered a contact of the case.
Larson concluded that the health department is urging the community to continue to diligently follow all safety guidelines to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.
“I do want to stress still that everybody in Hill County needs to stay vigilant in the preventative measures that we’re taking. You know, wash your hands frequently and stay out of crowded areas. If you are going into a store or something and it looks very crowded, walk away and go back later when it’s less busy…If soap and water is not available use hand sanitizer and make sure it has at least 60 percent alcohol and then clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Also, the CDC recommends covering your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering when you are around other people especially when social distancing is not attainable.”
For a full list of COVID-19 preventative measures visit cdc.gov.
