Nine Madison County citizens have tested negative for COVID-19, while three tests are still pending, according to a Tuesday afternoon news release from the Jackson-Madison County Health Department. Those numbers do not include results from private testing labs.
The release said as of Tuesday, only 12 Madison County residents have been approved for novel coronavirus testing by the Tennessee Department of Health State Public Health Laboratory.
As 4:33 p.m. Tuesday, there were 73 confirmed cases in Tennessee, according to the interactive maps from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering in Maryland and the World Health Organization (http://bit.ly/COVID19epidemicglobalcases). There were 5,894 cases in the United States, with 97 deaths. Globally, there have been a total 196,640 people confirmed to have or had COVID-19.
Residents who may have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact their primary care provider for testing, the department said. You should 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.
The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department is not testing for COVID-19. We encourage 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 more information about COVID-19 from the Tennessee Department of Health at 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.