The QC COVID-19 Coalition gave an update, Tuesday, September 1.
Speaking in the briefing was Dr. Louis Katz, Medical Director of the Scott County Health Department; Nita Ludwig, Administrator with the Rock Island County Health Department and Edward Rivers, Director of the Scott County Health Department.
In Rock Island County:
- There have been a total of 63 deaths
- The total number of cases the county has seen are 2,266
On September 1, there were 15 people hospitalized in Rock Island County
“We know of 31 COVID-19 patients who died in August, including three today,” said Nita Ludwig, administrator of the Rock Island County Health Department. “We send our condolences to their loved ones. Many of these residents were living in long-term care facilities. We all must follow public health guidelines of wearing a mask, keeping at least 6 feet between us and others and washing our hands frequently to keep our most vulnerable residents — and all of us — as safe as possible.”
In Scott County:
- There have been 21 deaths
- The total number of cases the county has seen are 2,235
"Contact tracing is important, please answer your phone"
Health officials talked about contact tracing and the importance of community cooperation in situations where the health department reaches out for information.
Rivers said the health department will gather information from people who test positive for COVID-19. They need to know when the person has been contagious and who they spent time with during those days.
Rivers said people who are positive will be asked to self-isolate for 10 days and will receive information on how to care for themselves.
For people who are in contact with a positive case, the health department will inform them that they've been exposed. They will be asked to quarantine for 14 days to ensure they don't expose others.
Dr. Katz explained that the isolation times are different because the person who tests positive has likely been sick for five or six days by the time they get their positive result. The contact's 14-day isolation begins at the last day of contact with a positive person.
"It's not anyone's first choice to have to stay home from work or school," said Rivers. "This could happen to any of us."
Reopening schools
The Quad Cities saw a surge in cases that began in June and has continued. The number of cases has averaged to be 20 cases per 100,000 population per day. Dr. Katz said public health officials would feel comfortable opening schools once this number drops to between one and five cases per 100,000 people per day.
"The rates we're seeing should make us very cautious as we try to reopen schools in the next several weeks," he said.
