****For Immediate Release****
October 18, 2020
Cattaraugus County Health Department was notified of its three hundredth and forty seventh confirmed case of COVID-19. The reporting laboratory was Bioreference Laboratories Inc., Elmwood Park, NJ. The department’s active positive COVID-19 caseload is now sixty as there are two hundred and seventy three residents who have recovered from COVID-19.
The latest case is a male resident who resides in the southeast quadrant of the county, who has no significant travel history and denies being in direct contact with a positive COVID-19 person. He is a healthcare worker and reports being asymptomatic (no fever, no cough, no body aches, etc.). He was tested for COVID-19 on October 12th as a requirement by the facility to test all employees weekly, and his test results on October 17th indicated that he was positive for the virus.
The department has begun a thorough contact tracing investigation for those individuals that he has been in contact with and the places that he has visited.
We would like to reiterate that if any resident experience fever, cough, shortness of breath or whole body aches they should contact their health care provider (avoid going directly to an Urgent Care facility, or the Emergency Room before calling).
In addition, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is especially important after using the bathroom, coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.
If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains a minimum of 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
Disinfect commonly touched surfaces with a cleaner that is approved by the EPA against COVID-19.
In an effort to determine the prevalence of the virus in our community, any resident interested in getting a swab test can register for a test or call 716-938-9119 or 716-938-2265.
For continued updates visit us at CattCo.org/Coronavirus.
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