Lummi Indian Business Council employee tests positive for coronavirus
A Lummi Indian Business Council employee has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Thursday afternoon Lummi Public Health Department press release.
The person, who resides in King County, received a positive test for the novel coronavirus, the release states. The Lummi Public Health Department learned Tuesday, March 10, that the person was in direct contact with another person that tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the release.
The Lummi public health team took steps to identify close contacts and instructed them to self-quarantine. The health department is prepared to offer testing to those that were exposed and are experiencing symptoms, the release states.
The Lummi health department is working with King and Whatcom county officials to track any individuals that may be affected, the release states.
No other identifying information was released about the person who tested positive, or whether they work in Whatcom or King county.
The Lummi Indian Business Council has been made aware of the positive test and is in the process of implementing its emergency preparedness plan, according to the health department release.
“We ask the community for their continued support as we move forward with containing COVID-19 to protect our Schelang’en,” the release said.
The Bellingham Herald has reached out to the Lummi Nation for comment.
Whatcom County had its first confirmed case of novel coronavirus Tuesday, March 10. The county also declared a public health emergency that same day. As of Thursday afternoon, Whatcom County had 19 pending tests for COVID-19, which is down from 21 on Wednesday.
The person who tested positive locally is a woman in her 60s who received medical care at St. Joseph hospital. Her condition improved, she was discharged and has been self-isolating at home. She has no known international travel history, the Whatcom County Health Department said.
The Lummi health department also “strongly” recommended late Wednesday night that community members cancel all travel outside of Whatcom County, even by car, and to self-isolate for up to 14 days upon return if travel is necessary to limit the spread of novel coronavirus.
The Lummi Indian Business Council declared a public health emergency on March 3 due to COVID-19, according to a business council press release. The state of emergency gives the Lummi Tribal Health Clinic Medical Director the power to quarantine, isolate and treat community members that are designated as a person under investigation as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in accordance with Lummi laws, the release states.
“Every Lummi tribal member matters; each of you is very important to the ongoing growth and well being of our Nation’s future,” the release states. “We encourage all of our people, especially our elders, to be cautious and vigilant in preventing the contact of COVID-19.”
More than 128,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,700 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1,600 confirmed cases, with at least 40 deaths — most of them in Washington state.
So far, COVID-19 has spread to at least 42 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Washington State Department of Health website reported 31 deaths and 457 confirmed cases in the state as of Thursday afternoon, March 12. Twenty-seven people have died of COVID-19 in King County, three in Snohomish County, and one in Grant County. So far, confirmed cases have been found in Clark, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties. The list now also includes cases that are unassigned to counties.
About coronavirus
COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is the name of the illness that first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, before spreading to other countries, including the U.S. It is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The disease is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other — what’s referred to as close contact — especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
The CDC says it’s possible to catch COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms — cough, fever, difficulty breathing — may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Although most of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
Stay informed
▪ https://whatcomcounty.us/ncov. Email general questions about COVID-19 in Whatcom County to covid@co.whatcom.wa.us.
▪ doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus. Call a hotline at 1-800-525-0127 and then press # for questions about what is happening in Washington state, how the virus spreads, and what to do if you have symptoms.
▪ cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
▪ cob.org/services/safety/emergencies/Pages/covid-19.aspx
▪ https://www.lummi-nsn.gov/Website.php?PageID=215
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 5:09 PM.
