Three Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in DeKalb County

March 27, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County now has 3 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus.

County Mayor Tim Stribling made the announcement in the following statement Friday afternoon.

“I have been notified by the TN Department of Health that there is one more confirmed COVID-19 case in DeKalb County bringing the total of confirmed cases to three as of this date.”

“As I said in reporting the first confirmed case, this is not unexpected. As we ramp up our testing, we expect to identify more cases. But there is still a lot we can do to slow down the spread and protect our most vulnerable but the worst thing we can do is panic. Now is the time to look after our own health to limit the spread. Keep your hands clean and continue to practice social distancing. If you are feeling bad, stay at home. Our elderly need to be staying at home as much as possible and we as neighbors and friends need to keep a check on them,” said County Mayor Stribling.

“We will continue to work closely with the TN Department of Health and all agencies of government at all levels to minimize the impact on the residents of DeKalb County. That has been and continues to be our primary concern. We will get through this together as everyone takes a personal responsibility to do everything they can to protect our county,” he said.

Individuals with specific questions can call the TDH Information line at 877-857-2945 or 931-646-7586.

Meanwhile the DeKalb County Health Department began conducting COVID-19 drive thru assessments Friday, March 27 at the health department on Tiger Drive with help from three members of the Tennessee National Guard.

Drive thru assessments will also be held again next week Monday through Friday, March 30 to April 3 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the same location and each week thereafter until further notice.

“If you have symptoms of COVID-19, we encourage you to stop by our health department for an assessment,” said County Mayor Stribling.

“Per DeKalb County Health Department Director Michael Railing, assisting the DeKalb County Health Department will be the Soldiers and Airmen from the Tennessee National Guard to provide support in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Lee indicated 250 guard members have been deployed statewide. He notes 150 are medically trained. Most will help rural counties staff 35 virus testing and assessment sites,” Stribling said.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html which also has a link to the Center for Disease Control website.

March 27, 2020
By:

Many of Blood Assurances’ partners are limiting their business to “essential activities” only. The FDA has defined blood drives as an essential community activity and Blood Assurance wants you to know it is perfectly safe to give blood at this time. As the U.S. Surgeon General stated in his address to the nation, “You can still go out and give blood…social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement.”

One of Blood Assurance’s longtime partners, DeKalb Neighbors Helping Neighbors coordinated by Jimmy Poss, County Clerk on a regular basis has stepped up to the plate during the pandemic and hosted a blood drive every 8 weeks with Blood Assurance. Not only did repeat donors come out to support their local blood bank on Monday, March 23, but new donors gave the gift of life for the first time, such as husband and wife, Jimmy and Anita Puckett.

Blood Assurance and the hospitals in its community would greatly appreciate your support. Blood drives are vital to maintaining our healthcare system and the health of patients in your local hospitals.

Blood Assurance is taking additional steps to ensure the health of its donors and is closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak nationally and in its service area. Please visit www.bloodassurance.org/coronavirus. In addition to the special protocols already in place, Blood Assurance is encouraging donors to make appointments and use its quickscreen app to answer health history questions in advance. To do that donors can visit https://www.bloodassurance.org/quickscreen.

Blood Assurance will also be giving away an Echo Dot every week to one randomly chosen donor and one 65” smart T.V. will also be given away at the end of March. All donors over the age of 18 are eligible to win.

Donating whole blood takes about 30 minutes and can impact 3 people in area hospitals. An appointment can be scheduled by phone or online. To schedule an appointment at a donor center or blood drive, please visit www.bloodassurance.org, call 800-962-0628 or text BAGIVE to 999777.

To be eligible to donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent), weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Donors are asked to drink plenty of fluids — avoiding caffeine — and eat a meal that is rich in iron prior to donating.

About Blood Assurance
Blood Assurance is a nonprofit, full-service regional blood center serving health care facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia. Founded in 1972 as a joint effort of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, the Chattanooga Area Hospital Council and the Chattanooga Jaycees, the mission of Blood Assurance is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood components to every area patient in need.

March 27, 2020
By: Bill Conger

For DeKalb County nurse practitioner Gianna Owens, the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a personal toll. All of her mother’s family including aunts and cousins along with Owens’ longtime friends from childhood live in Italy, where the virus has left thousands dead.

“All of my family is in lockdown with the exception of one that is a health care worker and has been keeping me abreast of the humanitarian crisis that is occurring in the hospitals,” says Owens, who at one point lived in the hardest hit area of Italy.

“When the first cases appeared in Italy at the end of January, I knew that in a highly global society it would be almost impossible to contain,” says Owens, who has been a health care provider for 30 years. Prior to relocating to Tennessee, she worked as an infectious disease nurse at Cornell University and was the Assistant Director of a 90- bed HIV/AIDS facility.

“I started hearing my family tell me about people showing up at homes in hazmat suits to remove bodies. To be true, I don’t think they [my family] even appreciated in its entirety what was going on. They will tell you that the lock down took place too late when the surge of infections had reached a critical situation, sort of like we are seeing here in New York.”

Then, she says the unthinkable transpired when one of her dearest friends, Lee Hostettler, who had been vacationing in Italy, came back sick to Nashville.

“We tried every avenue to get her tested, but since she had not been to China, she was not considered [a high priority for] testing.”

“I was overwhelmed because all I could think about was the millions of European travelers who were unknowingly carrying the virus here and that nobody had even seen them as a high risk category. Obviously, the CDC guidelines changed March 11, but from late January into mid-March, we had individuals returning or visiting the US from COVID hotspots while China was still the only focus.”

“Lee was not able to get tested till recently. It had been a month out before she could get tested. We assume she cleared it if she did have it, and we praise God for that.”

Owens says she had been closely following the news about the new coronavirus since its outbreak in China.

“I knew it was going to spread because I had taken an epidemiology class at UT Chattanooga and learned a great deal about pandemics. I am still in contact and in daily conversation with my professor at UT, Jenny Holcombe, and we have been analyzing information together almost daily.”

Owens’ connections to Italy began when the Army sent her dad to Italy where he was later stationed at the American Embassy in Rome. He met her mother, whose dad was the Director of the Ministry of Defense, and the two got married. Later, Owens was born on a military base in Texas.

“My parents moved back to Europe when I was five. I lived and travelled extensively in Europe and Africa and returned to the US in my early 20’s. I moved to DeKalb County 13 years ago and have lived here ever since.”

On top of hearing about the horrific family news from overseas, the health care worker has made a sacrificial decision to say good-bye temporarily to her daughter, Maria Little, a clarinet player in the D.C.H.S. band.

“Maria’s dad and I have decided to move Maria full time to his house, so that I can be less of a risk to her and concentrate fully on my job as a nurse practitioner without worrying about possibly spreading the virus to her. I fully understand now what our service men and women go through.”

Fortunately, for Owens, the battle against this virus hasn’t picked up in DeKalb County, and she remains optimistic thanks to the precautious steps local leaders have taken.

“Our mayors, the commissioners and emergency task force have been working tirelessly to contain the spread of COVID-19 in DeKalb County. I think they have done an amazing job warning places of worship and businesses and getting the schools closed down. It’s hard. I know that this economically hurts all of us, but I also know they have made the best decision to spare lives, especially in our community with so many elderly and where we are somehow all [are in close] contact to each other.”

Meanwhile, Owens stays in touch with colleagues that work in Massachusetts and New York City where health care professionals are slaving away to keep people alive.

“We joke. We cry. We share our fears, and we lift each other up. I am trying to learn everything I can about this disease, so that I can share it with the community but also be of service as a provider should the need arise.”

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