Reduce Your Risk: COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 remains a topic of conversation worldwide. Here’s what’s happening across the state, in Tulare County, and at Kaweah Health.

Statewide

The California Department of Public Health is encouraging Californians who are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 to take actions to reduce their risk. Early information out of China, where COVID-19 first started, shows that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. This includes:

• Older adults
• Individuals with compromised immune systems
• Individuals who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Lung disease

If you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 because of your age or health condition, it is important for you to take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick with the disease. Actions you can take to reduce your risk includes:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
• Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay away from large gatherings and crowds.
• Stay home as much as possible. Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

Source: California Department of Public Health

Tulare County

While there have been cases in Fresno and Madera counties, there remains no evidence of an infection of COVID-19 in Tulare County, according to the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency. For updates from TCHHSA on the number of individuals in the county being self monitored, click HERE (site updated two times a week). The county has the ability to test locally; test results are typically available within 24-48.

At Kaweah Health

We continue to work with Tulare County Public Health to test individuals who meet requirements for COVID-19 testing. Tulare County’s Public Health Officer must approve all tests, so anyone with symptoms who would like to be tested, should call their doctor. While we have a plan in place to ensure our staff, along with patients and visitors, remain safe, we are constantly making improvements based on information from our health partners, including the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Those of us in healthcare know that this time of year, cold and flu season, is not only very busy, but dangerous – the CDC estimates that 12,000 people die in the U.S. from the flu or flu-like illness each year; to date, 26 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19. We are in constant communication with Tulare County’s Public Health Officer and we’re constantly monitoring CDC for opportunities to improve our plan to keep our staff, patients and visitors safe. We will keep you posted as we know more.