Lanman speaks to Seniors about COVID-19

POMEROY–Garfield County Health District Administrator Martha Lanman and Garfield County Health District Nurse Elizabeth Springer, held a question and answer meeting addressing COVID-19 at a Senior Center hosted gathering on June 30 afternoon.

Lanman explained the process followed when a person suspects that they may have the virus. They should first contact their health care provider and report their symptoms. The request for a test must come from the provider, but with testing supplies more available now, people are being encouraged to get tested when any symptoms are present. All insurance companies cover the costs of testing, and if insurance is not available, the State of Washington has been paying for testing. At the Garfield County Hospital, testing is being done in a trailer, designated just for that purpose, or in the patient's vehicle.

When test results are positive, anyone that has been in close contact for at least 15 minutes with the patient, has the choice of being tested as well, even if they have no symptoms. It is recommended that they self-quarantine for a few days before being tested, however, because if tested too soon after exposure, the test may give a false negative result. Testing results are received much more quickly now. The Garfield County Hospital sends their test samples to a lab in Spokane, which gives a turnaround time of overnight to the next day. There is also a COVID-19 antibody test, but Lanman cautioned that it can also detect antibodies for other strains of COVID, and does not differentiate between those and the COVID-19 strain. She also added that it is still unknown how long those antibodies will protect someone from the virus.

The main symptoms to look for include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. However, Springer added that other symptoms have become apparent as well, such as muscle and body aches, headaches, sore throat, loss of sense of smell and taste, and even mild cold-like symptoms, allergy-type symptoms, or feeling overly tired. She recommended that any of these symptoms, which are not normal for a person, should be checked out.

Lanman talked about a concern of hers, which is travelers coming into the county from areas with active cases of the virus. She described a scenario where a group of people come from the Tri-Cities to go camping in Garfield County. They make some casual contacts with local people at their campsite, or come into town for supplies, and return home. Once home, they begin to feel sick, and are ultimately tested positive for the virus. No one in Garfield County would ever know about the contacts or possible exposure. She urges Garfield County residents to continue to protect themselves by wearing masks, keep proper distance from others, and limiting contacts to less than 15 minutes. The Health District has plenty of personal protective supplies, and has biweekly meetings with the County Commissioners, City Council, Sheriff's Office, EMS Services and the hospital, to be able to keep everyone informed and prepared. Her motto has become "community first," which means to keep Garfield County free of the virus, and continue to protect yourself as well as others.

Lanman reported that eighty tests had been administered in Garfield County, and all were negative As of June 30, 2020. Garfield County remains the only county in Washington to have no cases of the virus. However, surrounding counties have had positive cases, and some are still reporting new cases. Columbia County recently had a cluster of eight positive cases, which ranged in all ages, but none over 60. Walla Walla County had 22 new cases as of June 29, as well as Asotin County with one new case. As of July 1, 2020, Benton County had 147 new cases, Franklin County had 68 new cases, and Whitman County had 41 new cases.