December 12, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County currently has the #1 COVID-19 infection rate among Tennessee counties (per capita) at 157.6 per 100,000 residents and the 89th highest infection rate per capita in the United States according to COVID Act Now (CAN).
COVID Act Now is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides local-level disease intelligence and data analysis on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. CAN provides open-source tools, a realtime U.S. COVID risk map by state and county, and information for pandemic response and assists partners ranging from local county health departments to multinational corporations in developing COVID response plans.
According to CAN, Tennessee and DeKalb County are currently experiencing a severe outbreak of COVID-19 and warns that all precautions should be taken to avoid exposure
(Click link below to view CAN report on DeKalb County)
https://www.covidactnow.org/us/tennessee-tn/county/de_kalb_county?
As of Friday, December 11 the Tennessee Department of Health reported a total of 23 new COVID-19 cases in DeKalb County bringing the total number of confirmed or probable cases to 1,493 since March.
Twenty five people with COVID 19 have died in DeKalb County within the last nine months and 34 have been hospitalized.
(Click Link Below for DeKalb County Report)
https://covid19.tn.gov/data/dashboards/?County=Dekalb
As of Friday, 1,235 DeKalb Countians are now considered recovered from the virus and 233 cases remain active. Friday’s 7 day average rate of positive tests is 25.1%.
Starting the week of December 21st the DeKalb County Health Department will be changing COVID-19 testing times. Testing will be only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am-12:30pm. The DeKalb Health Department will be closed December 24th,25th, 31st, and January 1st for the holidays.
What are the symptoms?
The CDC says patients confirmed to have the 2019-nCoV reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with:
•Cough
•Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Or at least two of the following symptoms:
•Fever
•Chills
•Repeated shaking with chills
•Muscle pain
•Headache
•Sore throat
•New loss of taste or smell
At this time, the CDC believes symptoms could appear as soon as two days after exposure, or as long as 14 days.
Prevention
The CDC is recommending “common sense” measures such as:
•Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
•Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•Stay home when you are sick.
•Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others.
•Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
•Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.