Highland County has confirmed its fourth case of COVID-19.
Highland County Emergency Operations Public Information Officer Branden Jackman in his daily release on Thursday, April 2nd announced that four cases of Coronavirus in Highland County have now been confirmed.
Jackman noted that the latest two cases were contracted through community spread which means the virus is prevalent throughout the County. He advises residents to continue following the Governor’s Stay-At-Home Order, which has now been extended through the beginning of May, and to only leave home for essential supplies.
Jackman's Thursday announcement was released as follows:
So we have 4 confirmed cases in Highland County. What does this mean to you? Do you need to do something differently? What can you do to help?
Let’s answer these questions and talk about more numbers. What does it mean to you that we have 4 cases now or that it was recklessly released that one of the cases was in a certain town? Not a thing. The last two cases have been community spread cases which means its prevalent throughout Highland county. You should be treating everyone outside your immediate family as though they have COVID-19 and practice physical distancing, wash your hands if you come in contact with someone, cover your cough, never touch your face and stay home if you are sick.
There’s nothing different to do, observe the stay at home order. Only travel if it’s essential. Groceries and essential supplies to keep your home running is a necessity but let’s try and maintain the one cart-one person and not take the whole family into harm’s way. The current stay at home order was meant to expire Monday at midnight. As most of you heard, the order has been extended until May 1st with some changes. As soon as we have a hard copy of the new order, we’ll update with the changes as the Governor clarified some things in the order.
You want to know how you can help? We had posted last week about cloth masks. If you are still interested in making masks, you can, once done you can email donations@pcjefd.org to have those picked up. I posted a link on my personal Facebook as well as that of Paint Creek Fire asking for licensed individuals in the community that may be available to help with the surge. If you’d like to register, go here.
Let’s talk numbers. This is going to be a daily thing I’m afraid. 802, the number of people that require hospitalization because of the Coronavirus. 260 is the number out of the 802 that are requiring intensive care. These are the numbers that concern us as they are the people needing the most care. 81, the number of people who have lost their fight. Say a small prayer for the family and friends of those who are hurting tonight because of this virus. Wash your hands, cover your cough and don’t touch your face so that you don’t become one of these numbers tomorrow.
We’re all in this together, be nice.