Three new coronavirus cases in Madera County, more positive cases expected
Madera County officials on Monday announced three new confirmed coronavirus cases acquired.
That brings the county’s total number of cases to five, not including a case where a patient recently recovered, county officials said during a news conference Monday afternoon. The three new cases were confirmed as of late Sunday.
Tulare County officials on Monday also announced an additional four new confirmed cases, bringing the county’s total up to 16.
Madera County officials expect more positive cases in the coming weeks, according to the Madera County Department of Public Health.
The latest cases in Madera County are connected to cases that were announced on March 19 and involved patients who had not traveled outside the state or the country. The two cases made public on March 19 were people from the same family.
Madera County Department of Public Health communicable disease investigators worked with investigators from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, Madera County District Attorney’s Office, as well as probation investigators to “trace close contacts” with those two March 19 cases. Investigators were able to interview 147 of the identified contacts within 24 hours.
All individuals have been placed in quarantine and those with symptoms underwent testing.
Of the 147 people who were interviewed, 10 individuals were showing symptoms and were tested, Sara Bosse, director of the Madera County Department of Public Health, said during a Monday afternoon news conference.
Three of the 10 tests came back positive, she said, and officials are still awaiting the results from the remaining seven tests. Additionally, two more people from the 147 who were interviewed started showing symptoms and will be tested Monday, Bosse said.
“The timeline for testing results vary depending on which lab is used, anywhere from 48 hours to a week,” Bosse.
Madera County officials are encouraging residents to practice social distancing, and follow the order from Gov. Gavin Newsom to stay home. That will help prevent the further spread of COVID-19, and help county public health officials with their containment investigations.
“The important messages to remember are to stay home, only go out for essential business and then return promptly,” Bosse said, adding that people should also continue to wash their hands and not touch their face.
“Our intent here is to stay in containment as long as possible,” added Dr. Eric Sergienko, acting Public Health Officer at the Madera County Department of Public Health.
Bosse said those people who get the virus, after recovering, they can’t get it again.
Meanwhile, the first Madera County resident who tested positive for coronavirus has recovered and has been released from isolation, officials said on Sunday. The resident, whose case was first announced on March 7, was a travel-related case.
No specific details of the confirmed cases were released in order not to identify the individuals, given that Madera County is a small community, officials said.
A question that is probably on people’s mind, Bosse said, is whether people can get the virus more than once.
“Once a person is cleared of the virus, meaning they had not had symptoms for seven days, or they haven’t had a fever for three days, and they are allowed to come out of isolation, and into the general public, they are no longer contagious and they are not able to get the virus again,” she said.
Juli Gregson, with the Madera County Public Health Department, said because the current situation is a public health emergency, the county was able to bring in other resources from the county’s sheriff’s office and the county’s district attorney’s office, for example, to help investigate.
The number of confirmed cases in nearby counties continues to increase as well.
In Tulare County, the additional four new cases announced Monday are all travel-related, officials said in a news release. Patients for three of the four new cases are between the ages of 18 and 25, with one between the age of 26 and 40. All patients are self-quarantined at home.
Stanislaus County officials on Monday announced the county’s ninth positive coronavirus case.
Merced County officials on Sunday reported the county’s first confirmed coronavirus case. Officials said it was a travel-related case. On Thursday, Merced County officials had confirmed a public safety official had tested positive for coronavirus, but the person lives in Madera.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 11:56 AM.
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