Monticello, NY – Sullivan County Public Health Director Nancy McGraw announced today that a new case of COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) has been confirmed in the County.
“Another person in Sullivan County tested positive today, bringing our confirmed-case total to four,” said McGraw. “They have been self-isolating, and our staff are in the process of determining if there were any additional exposures.”
Sullivan County, in accordance with HIPAA policies and procedures, is not releasing information that could potentially identify individuals infected with COVID-19. The location of the first case confirmed in Sullivan County, at the Care Center at Sunset Lake, was identified only because it occurred with a health care worker in a high-traffic, County-run facility that serves particularly vulnerable individuals.
“Everyone with an illness, no matter how contagious, has a right to privacy – especially when any identification of an individual could impact them negatively. That’s a real risk in communities as small as ours because of the familiarity that people have with each other,” McGraw explained. “So unless we determine there is an immediate risk to public health – for example, transmission in a crowded location such as a nursing home – we will not disclose locations, names or other information that would enable others to easily identify those who are infected.”
“Rest assured that the Public Health Services team, our NYS Department of Health colleagues and the staff of Sullivan County government are working night and day to investigate confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, in order to keep all of us safe,” she added. “We will notify anyone we think has reason to be concerned that they have been exposed to this virus. The only official source for confirmed cases in Sullivan County is Public Health Services, which releases through official County channels.”
Please remember to actively protect yourself against COVID-19 transmission via social distancing and frequent handwashing with soap and water. For more information on the virus and local updates, visit www.sullivanny.us/departments/publichealth/coronavirus.