Photo by Luc Brown
A female Madison County resident has been confirmed to have COVID-19, making her the first case of COVID-19 in Madison County.
Kim Tedford, director of the Jackson Madison County Regional Health Department, made the announcement Monday night during a press conference. Tedford said her department was notified by the Tennessee Department of Health State Public Health Laboratory at 5:52 p.m. Monday.
Tedford said the patient was seen and treated at the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital Emergency Department Sunday and was told to self-isolate and self-quarantine until she received her test results. Since the patient was tested at the emergency room, her test was sent to the state lab in Nashville.
Tedford said she assumes the patient was sick enough to go to the emergency room, but not sick enough to be admitted into the hospital.
JMC Regional Health Department’s epidemiology staff are currently reaching out to people who had contact with the patient. The patient hasn’t been associated with travel outside of Tennessee, Tedford said.
During Monday morning’s media briefing, Tedford said even though a case hadn’t yet been confirmed in Madison County, the novel coronavirus was here and she expected the numbers of positive COVID-19 cases to increase.
“I can assure you, we have COVID-19 in Madison County somewhere,” Tedford said. “The right person’s just not been tested.”
Tedford added: “And let me remind you, not everyone needs to be tested. Just because you’re tested, it doesn’t change your treatment. There is no treatment. For 90 percent of the population, you may get exposed, you may get sick and you self-isolate yourself at home and you may never need… hopefully, you won’t need any further medical care, certainly not a trip to the hospital.”
Tedford said social distancing is the greatest tool in slowing the spread of COVID-19. She added that you should stay at home if you can, only go out if it is absolutely necessary and keep a distance of six feet between you and others.
Residents who may have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact their primary care provider for testing. Please call your provider before you go to the office. If you experience severe illness and need to go to the emergency room, please call ahead.
Providers may choose to use commercial laboratories for testing.
Tedford said the following are private healthcare providers who are doing COVID-19 testing throughout Madison County:
-The LIFT
-West Tennessee Healthcare Walk-In Clinic Thomsen Farms
-Jackson Clinic Convenient Care North
-UT Family Medicine Center
-Madison Family Medical Clinic in Hamilton Hills
-Christ Community Health Services on Lexington Avenue
The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department is not testing for COVID-19.
The health department encourages residents to take routine precautions used in guarding against respiratory
viruses:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
- Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
- Stay home if you are sick
- Stay away from people who are sick
Find information about COVID-19 from the Tennessee Department of Health at https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated information and guidance available online at www.cdc.gov/COVID19.