Each time a person tests positive for COVID-19 an investigation is launched including contact tracing. Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski shares what the process looks like, “Contact tracing is tricky because it just depends, it depends on their level of exposure. So we can see, for example, one case could be anywhere from two to we’ve seen 25 contacts. And so, then we spend time calling every single one of those people, explaining their exposure, talking to them about what they need to do, how they need to quarantine, and it’s different based on their job classifications, so there’s some education that goes into that. Also, they have changed the testing criteria, so now anyone who has had confirmed contact with a confirmed case, whether they’re symptomatic or not, can be tested through the State Hygienic Lab, so we are trying to help coordinate that.”

Washington County has had 190 positive COVID-19 cases and five serology cases, with 158 recovered so far. The local recovery rate is 83%. Washington County has seen eight residents die from the novel coronavirus. Statewide, as of Tuesday at 11 a.m., there have been 19,956 positive cases and 560 deaths. So far, 11,604 people have recovered, which equates to a recovery rate of 58%.