By Danielle Koepplin

CARRINGTON, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Foster County Public Health and Foster County are encouraging calm and caution following the announcement of a second positive COVID-19 case in Foster County:  A male in his 30’s, possible travel.

The North Dakota Department of Health will be conducting interviews with all persons diagnosed with COVID-19 to determine who their close contacts are (i.e, household contact, co-workers, etc.). People who are identified as close contacts will be notified by the North Dakota Department of Health and will receive instruction on quarantine and monitoring.  Reminder close contact is considered to being within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer with a COVID-19 positive person.  

If you have not been contacted by the North Dakota Department of Health after you have been in the same location with a person diagnosed with COVID-19, you are not considered a close contact but should continue to follow social distancing guidance, good handwashing hygiene and staying home if you become sick.

Currently there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent being infected with the virus is to avoid exposure. As a community, we need to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. In order to do this, we ask you to do the following:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap for at least 20 seconds.  In the absence of soap, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content.
• Avoid touching your T-zone (eyes, nose, mouth)
• Practice social distancing.  Avoid large social gatherings.  Use drive-through, pickup, or delivery options.
• Work from home when possible
• Stay home when you are sick.  Call your health care provider if you develop fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw tissue in trash and wash your hands.  In the absence of a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Stay away from others who are sick.
• Limit close contact (6 feet or less) with others as much as possible.
• Continue to use good practices of calling ahead and conducting any business you can via phone, email, or other methods.  
• When you are out in the public for ESSENTIAL things (grocery shopping, etc.) now is not the time to stand around and visit.  Get in and out of stores quickly, doing your best to stay 6 feet away from others.  Use good hand hygiene by wiping off carts and use hand sanitizer or wash hands as soon as possible.  

People should take the time to go to the CDC and North Dakota Department of Health websites and get familiar with their information.  They have provided guidance for a variety of specific groups, as well as for general population methods of response.  

For questions related to COVID-19, the public can call the North Dakota Department of Health hotline at 866-207-2880 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Individuals experiencing a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing should call their healthcare provider prior to going to the healthcare facility.

We as Foster County community members have an important job to do in response to COVID-19.  That response is to be conscious about the decisions we make.  For the decisions we make, will not just affect us personally.  Those decisions will affect our family, friends, co-workers and fellow community members. By everyone doing their part we can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Be Informed…Be Prepared… Be Safe…Be Smart.

For further questions, please contact Foster County Public Health at 701-652-3087.