The Importance of Being Clear

On Monday, a press release quoting Matt Murell, chair of the Board of Supervisors, and Jack Mabb, director of the Columbia County Department of Health, warned of a "spike in local positive cases." Despite the dire warning, the number of new positive cases being reported by the CCDOH showed no increase that could be described as a "spike." After two days of no new cases, there was one reported on Sunday, three on Monday, two yesterday, and three today--an increase definitely but hardly a spike.

Today, a message was communicated by phone and email to everyone registered to receive alerts from Columbia County. It clarified that the spike reported on Monday was not actually a spike in positive cases but in the number of people those testing positive had been in contact with.

The following message is from Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell. Columbia County is seeing a spike in the number of close contacts of those who have recently tested positive for COVID-19. The wider the spread, the greater the risk of seeing even more positive cases and hospitalizations. This will have a negative impact on our region's reopening, our economy and the activities that are allowed. Why do contacts matter? Contacts have the potential of becoming sick with COVID-19 and furthering the spread. How can we reduce these high numbers? Everyone must do their part.

l  Act like you may be infected and do not want to spread it around;

l  Always wear a mask or cloth face-covering when in public;

l  Continue to socially distance; and

l  Faithfully wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.

We still have a long way to go, but please make steps a habit!

From this message, it appears the spike is in the number of people the contact tracers are having to notify and monitor. We don't know where in the county these exposed and potentially infected folks live, but we have to hope they are now self-quarantining.