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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

COVID-19

St. Louis County infections on the rise

Jodi Summit
Posted 4/1/20

REGIONAL- With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in St. Louis County continuing to grow, St. Louis County Public Health Director Amy Westbrook said health officials are seeing cases in both …

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COVID-19

St. Louis County infections on the rise

Posted

REGIONAL- With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in St. Louis County continuing to grow, St. Louis County Public Health Director Amy Westbrook said health officials are seeing cases in both urban and rural parts of the county. The exact location of these patients is not released to the public, Westbrook said, which is Minnesota Department of Health policy to protect patient privacy.
“We continue to assume there are more cases here than what is confirmed due to limited testing,” she said on Sunday during a call to area media. The county has also seen the first instance of a person having serious enough symptoms to require hospitalization, a woman in her early 60s.
“We wish her all the best for a full recovery,” Westbrook said.
In a majority of cases, COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. For some, especially older adults and people with underlying health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. “We do know that anybody is susceptible,” she said. “Don’t assume you will see the illness only in those of high risk.” The newest cases in St. Louis County include both men and women, and they are all in the 20s or 30s. Westbrook said at this point all of the cases in St. Louis County are linked to outside travel, rather than community transmission.
Other infections may still be undetected, however, since the county is still experiencing a shortage of testing kits.
For now, said Westbrook, isolation is key for anyone experiencing signs of COVID-19 illness. “Physicians are recommending that people who present with clinical symptoms stay at home,” she said, noting that at this point, these patients are not being tested because of the shortage.
Neither the county nor state health department are tracking the number of such possible COVID-19 cases. “It is really hard to track those individuals,” said Westbrook.
Such tracking would come into play if the county starts to see community spread.
“Community transmission is when we can’t identify how a person was exposed,” she said. “St. Louis County will release information if community transmission is discovered.”
The county would also inform a business if one of their employees does test positive, so that co-workers could be notified. But then it would be up to the business whether or not to make that information public, she said.
 Anyone with clinical questions about the COVID-19 virus, such as identifying symptoms or whether testing is needed, can call Essentia Health at 1-833-494-0836, or St. Luke’s at 218-249-4200. Non-clinical questions, such as preventative steps to take or anything travel-related, can be directed to the St. Louis County Public Health information line at 218-625-3600 or the Minnesota Department of Health at 651-201-3920.