As Cape May County Continues to See COVID-19 Cases It is Important That Individuals Understand Quarantine
Cape May Court House- The County of Cape May Department of Health is reporting 13 new positive cases among County residents as listed below.
Total positive cases of COVID-19 infection in Cape May County is now 1279 including 90 deaths.
“Since COVID-19 is a new disease we are still learning new information and best practice on how to decrease the spread. One strategy that is being used to decrease the spread of COVID-19 is by quarantining individuals that are identified as close contacts,” said Kevin Thomas, Health Officer.
Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine differs from isolation because isolation is used to keep a sick individual away from others. An individual is asked to quarantine if they have been identified as a close contact. New Jersey Department of Health defines a close contact as anyone who was within six feet of you for more than 10 minutes at least two days before your positive test if you didn’t have any symptoms, or two days before your first symptom appeared. An individual that needs to quarantine should do the following:
Stay home for 14 full days after last exposure
Separate themselves from others
Monitor health Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
Follow directions from their state or local health department
An individual may end quarantine usually after 14 full days after last contact of COVID-19 positive person. If they are in contact with a household contact their quarantine begins when that individual’s isolation period is finished. A negative COVID-19 test does not exempt an individual from quarantine. An individual from state or local health department will be in contact with anyone who is identified as a close contact to give specific instructions on quarantine.
Stay up to date on the current situation as it evolves. Some reliable sources are New Jersey Poison Information and Education System Hotline at 211 or 1-800-962-1253, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov, World Health Organization at www.who.int, New Jersey Department of Health at COVID19.nj.gov. For additional information visit Cape May County Department of Health at www.cmchealth.net and also like us on Facebook.