San Juans Has 12 New COVID Cases

Posted February 8, 2021 at 6:51 pm by

Contributed Image/CDC

From San Juan County

Given the recent spike in cases, this update is being provided ahead of the standard reporting schedule. The regular report will be released on Friday, Feb. 12 as usual.

Since the last update on Friday, Feb. 5, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 111 to 123. Four new cases are on Lopez Island, and eight on San Juan Island.

Approximately 63 close contacts of positive cases are currently in active quarantine.

Orcas Island

There are no new cases on Orcas Island since the last update.

Three previously identified cases are still under active monitoring on Orcas Island at this time.

Lopez Island

There are four new cases on Lopez Island. All of these cases are tied to a previously reported case. Transmission has been tied to unmasked workplace or social contact.

There are four positive cases being actively monitored on Lopez Island at this time.

San Juan Island

There are eight new cases on San Juan Island. Four of these cases are close household contacts of two previously reported positive cases. The initial transmission source was out of state travel.

The other four new cases consist of a new case with an unknown transmission source, and three members of a household with close contact to the initial case, likely through a workplace setting.

There are five positive cases being actively monitored on San Juan Island at this time.

Overall

As we have seen over the last couple of days, COVID can spread quickly when people live, work or socialize together unmasked. While clearly household members are going to interact unmasked, that should not be the case for co-workers or those choosing to spend time with others outside of their household.

It is also easy to see the importance of aggressive and accurate contact tracing and quarantining after a case has been identified. The community can help make sure this is done as effectively as possible by providing all relevant details when working with the public health team, and by fully complying with quarantine guidelines once identified as a close contact.

It is easy to become complacent in the islands given our relatively low case rates, but make no mistake, the situation can change very quickly. The power of exponential growth means that a single case can have rippling impacts through the community if not stopped by precautions like masking and social distancing.

Please review this recent update urging islanders to avoid high-risk travel off-island and to avoid hosting guests from off-island.

Latest information on vaccine distribution is available at www.sanjuanco.com/1737/COVID-Vaccine-Info.

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One comment...

  1. Meh. It’s par for the course. At this point we all know how it’s spread and who is at risk. Those at low risk are probably deciding it’s not worth staying at home and avoiding their friends. Those who are unfortunately in the high risk group can continue to take precautions and wait for the vaccine.

    Comment by Dave on February 8, 2021 at 7:14 pm

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