MANAGING COMMUNITY SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
On March 21, 2020 the first positive COVID-19 case in the Eastern Sierra was announced and is evidence of community spread of the disease. The case is a male resident of Mammoth Lakes who has been hospitalized for the past week. We do not know the source of his illness, and we are investigating all contacts. The Public Health investigative team has identified and notified close contacts who are household members, coworkers, family and friends to assess and monitor them for signs and symptoms of illness. All case contacts are self-quarantined at home at this time. The Health Department is monitoring these people and we working with
the Community Support Branch of the Mono/Mammoth Unified Command to provide support to people to people who cannot leave home.
What Does This Mean?
These latest developments are not a surprise, they confirm what we have anticipated – COVID-19 is in our community. With a statewide Stay at Home order in place, non-essential activities on hold, the tourist population greatly reduced, and people practicing good social distancing, we believe we can significantly slow the spread of COVID-19. Mono County Public Health has its investigative team ready to respond promptly for new and suspect cases with tools including case investigation, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine orders.
As there is now confirmation of COVID-19 in the community, we can expect to see more cases in coming weeks. It will take some weeks to see the benefits of social distancing. Remember that you may have a mild illness, perhaps not even know that you are infected, and still pass the virus on to others who could become seriously ill. It is important to remember to maintain social distancing, wash your hands and wipe frequently used surfaces regularly, and stay home while you are sick. This will slow the number of cases we see two or more weeks down the road.
If you have symptoms of cough and fever but feel you can care for yourself at home, please stay at home under self-quarantine for a minimum of 7-days, avoid contact with others, and get plenty of rest. However, if you are sick and have severe symptoms, please contact the Emergency Department at (760) 924-4076 for further instructions on what you should do. We want to minimize your risk of becoming infected with COVID-19. If you are infected, we want to help you decrease the risk of spreading the illness to others. Stay home and stay safe. During these challenging times please care for one another and we will get through this together.
Please utilize the resources below for information about the Coronavirus:
• Call: 211
• Website: MonoHealth.com/Coronavirus
• Facebook.com/MonoHealthDepartment
• Instagram.com/MonoCountyHealthDepartment
• Twitter.com/CountyMono
