The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.
Dr. Berry there is still a critical shortage of COVID-19 testing. She said although distribution of test kits ordered from the federal government and the State Department of Health will be delayed by up to two weeks, this should not prevent anyone from following protocols. Here’s Dr. Berry’s directions on what to do:
– If you’re sick and you can’t get tested for COVID-19, the most important thing to do is stay home while you’re sick for five days from when your symptoms started, because it’s very possible that it’s COVID-19.
– If you can’t get tested, you can’t know for sure that it’s not COVID-19 in that you’re shedding that virus at work.
– If you can’t get tested, stay home for five days when you’re sick.
– If you’re exposed but you can’t get a test, stay home for five days if you are unboosted.
– If you’re boosted, you can continue to work. That’s kind of the simplest way I can break down the guidance around isolation and quarantine.
– If you test positive for COVID-19, the safest thing to do is to stay home for 10 days from when symptoms started. If you test negative, then you can go back as soon as your symptoms have resolved.
Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.
Note: normally the BOCC meets 4 times a month and then skips the 5th week, so the next Public Health Briefing is scheduled for Monday, February 7.
