Nassau County Health Department Addresses Concerns Related to Today's New COVID Cases

From The County Insider

August 31, 2020

Covid 19

8/28/20 @ 5:15 p.m. - The Nassau County Department of Health provided the below information to address concerns that more than 40% of today's new COVID-19 cases are associated with clusters in congregated living settings.

What FDOH Nassau CHD is doing to investigate and mitigate spread in congregate settings:

• DOH-Nassau has been working with all local county congregate living facilities to provide infection control guidance, education on appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing assistance, and support in caring for their residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• DOH-Nassau recommends that during a local COVID-19 outbreak, long-term care facilities and other congregate living facilities take proactive steps to prevent introduction of this illness into the facility, including restricting visitors and limiting contact between staff and residents.
• DOH–Nassau will continue this support role for facilities with cases of COVID-19 using guidance from the CDC for Shared or Congregate Housing https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/shared-congregate-house/guidance-shared-congregate-housing.html

Current status: Information on number of cases in Long Term Care Facilities is available on the FDOH COVID19 website (https://floridahealthcovid19.gov)

As a reminder, we remain under a State Declaration of Public Health emergency and all Nassau residents and visitors should follow guidance from FDOH and CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html on how to limit spreading infection, especially to most vulnerable.

DOH reminds all Nassau residents to protect the vulnerable by avoiding the Three Cs: Closed Spaces, Crowded Places and Close-Contact Settings and by wearing a mask in public:

• Closed Spaces. Avoid closed spaces with poor ventilation that could allow contagious droplets to linger in the air.
• Crowded Places. Avoid crowded places with many people nearby; the greater the number of individuals in an area, the greater the chances of COVID-19 spreading from person-to-person.
• Close-Contact Settings. Avoid close-range conversations and stay at least six-feet from others.

Everyone plays a part in lowering the impact within our communities, homes, workplaces and gathering spaces.

Taking every day preventative actions helps to impede the spread of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. Preventative actions include:

• Washing your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
• Staying home when you are sick. This message cannot be emphasized enough.
• Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.