Photo by Luc Brown
The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Madison County remained at eight Tuesday morning, said Kim Tedford, Regional Director of the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.
Tedford also gave updates for each case during the media briefing at the health department, including sharing the fact that the eighth COVID-19 case announced Monday afternoon was confirmed through results from last week’s COVID-19 drive-thorough assessment testing at the Fairgrounds in Madison County.
The following is all the information health officials have given about the eight COVID-19 cases in Madison County, including when the health department made the cases known to the public:
Case #1: 23-year-old female, recovered
This case was reported Monday, March 23. The woman had traveled alone to Miami, Florida for Spring Break. She returned to Madison County and was feeling sick so she self-isolated herself until Saturday, March 21, when she became feverish. The woman then went to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital’s emergency room, where she was tested, treated and sent home Sunday, March 22. She was told to self-isolate, which she and her family, who she lives with, did.
Case #2: 77-year-old female, hospitalized
This case was reported Wednesday, March 25. The woman, who was homebound and lived alone, had two caregivers, who have been contacted by the health department. The woman had a visit from a family friend before being hospitalized Sunday, March 22, when she was tested for COVID-19. The family friend, who was traveling from New Orleans to Michigan, stopped by the woman’s house in Madison County to see her before continuing on to Michigan. The family friend was last reported to be very sick in Michigan, hospitalized and on a ventilator.
Case #3: 73-year-old female, self-isolating, recovering
This case was reported Thursday, March 26. The woman, who had traveled out of the state, tested positive for COVID-19 from a test given by a private laboratory. The department’s epidemiology staff has reached out to people who had contact with her.
Case #4: 28-year-old female, self-isolating
This case was reported Friday, March 27. The woman currently works and lives in Shelby County, but still has a Madison County address, which is why she is counted in the total for Madison County. She has not been in Madison County since developing symptoms. She is self-isolated at home and the health department’s epidemiology staff have reached out to people who had contact with her.
Case #5: 45-year-old female, self-isolating
This case was reported Monday, March 30. She tested positive for COVID-19 from a test given by a private laboratory. The health department’s epidemiology staff is reaching out to people who had contact with her.
Case #6: 72-year-old male, hospitalized
This case was reported Monday, March 30. The health department’s epidemiology staff is reaching out to people who had contact with him.
Case #7: 30-year-old male, self-isolating
This case was reported Monday, March 30. The health department’s epidemiology staff is reaching out to people who had contact with him.
Case #8: 52-year-old female, self-isolating
This case was reported Monday, March 30. She tested positive for COVID-19 through results from last week’s COVID-19 drive-thorough assessment testing at the Fairgrounds in Madison County. The health department’s epidemiology staff is reaching out to people who had contact with her.
Tedford said the 52-year-old woman was the only positive confirmation out of the 18 results the department has received so far after testing at the assessment site. A total of 67 people were tested and the remaining results could come at any time.
Tedford said health officials are talking about having another drive-through assessment, but want to wait and see what the results from last week show before deciding.
Tedford once again stressed the importance for the public to stay at home.
“Everybody needs to be mindful,” Tedford said. “Stay at home.”
She also said that young people who think they can’t get the novel coronavirus are wrong, citing totals from the TN Dept of Health, which shows that the largest group that has COVID-19 are those ages 21-30 with a total of 462 cases. Age group 41-50 has a total of 299 cases, age group 31-40 has a total of 286 cases and age group 51-60 has a total of 280 cases.
Age group 0-10 has 18 cases, age group 80-plus has 50 cases, age group 11-21 has 96 cases, age group 71-80 has 120 cases and 61-70 has 212 cases.
“This affects everyone,” Tedford said.
Before ending the briefing, Tedford gave kudos to local long-term facilities and nursing homes, citing the fact that because they stop visitations weeks ago, we aren’t seeing the kinds of COVID-19 outbreaks that other parts of Tennessee are seeing.