One of the chanllenges of predicting a surge in hospital admissions from COVID-19 cases is the lack of widespread testing. That’s why San Juan Basin Public Health asks residents who show symptoms of the disease to fill out an anonymous questionnaire online.
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DO YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE COVID-19? IF SO, SAN JUAN BASIN PUBLIC HEALTH WANTS YOU TO FILL OUT AN ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE ON LINE TO HELP THE AGENCY TRACK CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS. YOU’RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, BROUGHT TO YOU BY KROEGER’S ACE HARDWARE, THE HELPFUL PLACE. I’M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. SAN JUAN BASIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAS LAUNCHED AN ONLINE, ANONYMOUS COVID-19 SYMPTOM TRACKING SURVEY AND ASKS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO SUSPECT THAT THEY HAVE COVID-19 TO REPORT THEIR SYMPTOMS. THE LACK OF TESTING SUPPLIES TO CONFIRM TRANSMISSION OF THE CORONAVIRUS HAS HAMPERED THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY’S ABILITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER TRANSMISSION OF THE VIRUS IS INCREASING, REMAINING STEADY OR DECREASING IN THE COMMUNITY. ONCE INFORMATION IS SUFFICIENT TO AGGREGATE, IT WILL BE REPORTED ON THE AGENCY’S WEB SITE. THE INFORMATION WILL BE USED TO INFORM EMERGENCY RESPONSE, MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, AND AREA HOSPITALS TO HELP THEM BETTER MANAGE RESOURCES. ACCORDING TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE CORONAVIRUS CAN BE MISSED BY CURRENT TESTING, AND THAT’S WHY IT DEVELOPED THE TRACKING FORM. COVID-19 SYMPTOMS INCLUDING FEVER, DRY COUGH, AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH. IF YOU HAVE THOSE SYMPTOMS, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ADVISES THAT YOU ASSUME TO HAVE THE VIRUS AND ISOLATE YOURSELF. AS OF MONDAY, APRIL 6TH, LA PLATA COUNTY REPORTED 34 CASES OF COVID-19; ARCHULETA COUNTY, 6 CASES; MONTEZUMA COUNTY, 8, AND IN SAN JUAN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, 83 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INFECTED. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LATEST NEWS, THE TRACKING SURVEY, AND HOW TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINS THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS, VISIT S J B PUBLIC HEALTH DOT ORG. THANKS FOR WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, CREATED LOCALLY, DELIVERED LOCALLY AND SUPPORTED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES. I’M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE.
