Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley — Iron County health officials announced a third confirmed case of COVID-19 in the county Thursday.
The department didn’t release any information regarding the person who tested positive, citing the patient’s privacy, but said the individual is in isolation.
Health department officials are working with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department to investigate who may have been in close contact with the person.
“Based on (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, a close contact is someone who was within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before illness onset until the time the patient is isolated,” Health Officer Katie Hampston said in Thursday’s announcement. “They should maintain quarantine by staying home, maintaining social distancing and self-monitoring until 14 days from the last date of exposure.”
Thursday’s case is the first positive test in Iron County since early April. The county has had a single death linked to the virus, the first case reported March 26.
There have been 339 negative cases in the county as of Wednesday, according to information on the state’s website.
Wisconsin has seen a total of 25,763 cases and 757 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the state website — although these numbers don’t include Iron County’s third case and any other cases reported Thursday.
Public health officials continue to encourage limited contact to a small circle of individuals, staying six feet apart from those outside the circle, frequent hand washing and disinfecting of surfaces, staying home when sick and avoiding touching faces.
For the latest information on the disease, visit the CDC’s website, the Department of Human Services’ website, the Iron County Health Department’s Facebook page or ironcountypublichealth.org.
