People who ignore minor symptoms are spreading COVID-19 on the Coast, Singing River says
Family members are spreading the new coronavirus to one another, and employees are exposing co-workers because they are writing off minor symptoms that turn out to be COVID-19, contact tracing work at Singing River Health System reveals.
“The number one issue is, if you have a symptom, no matter how minor, isolate and wear a mask if you’re around anyone,” SRHS CEO Lee Bond said Thursday.
“Our contact tracing shows that most transmission occurs when people don’t isolate when they have a symptom, even minor. Now is a good time to be a hypochondriac, most people are not.”
“Many times, people felt that they had a sinus infection when in reality they had COVID-19.”
SRHS is reporting 160 new cases from Jackson County tests over a seven-day period, an average of 23 new cases a day and its highest number to date.
Bond said both testing and COVID-19 cases have increased in Jackson County. A team of one dozen volunteers who work at SRHS, most of them nurses, are contacting people who test positive and working with them to make sure they self-quarantine and notify any contacts of their status.
Jackson and Harrison counties are two of the 13 counties with COVID-19 spikes high enough to warrant a new executive order from Gov. Tate Reeves. In the 13 counties, the order that goes into effect next week will restrict crowd sizes and mandate masks for shopping and social gatherings.
How the coronavirus is spreading
Bond said the virus is spreading in Jackson County primarily through family transmission.
In one example, someone in a traveling labor group was diagnosed with walking pnuemonia in late May and transmitted the virus to another person in the house.
Both attended a family Memorial Day gathering May 25, and both tested positive for COVID-19 on June 1.
Five family members are believed to have contracted the virus at the holiday gathering. Some of them then spread the virus at a church service, while another passed it to someone while helping move furniture.
“If everyone who had a symptom would isolate, it would have the greatest impact of anything,” Bond said.
Symptoms include a headache, fatigue, loss of taste or sense of smell, a slight cough or minor sinus symptoms.
People also spread the virus by continuing to work or expose others while they wait on test results, which can take 24 to 72 hours to receive.
“The days of going to work sick and going to school sick are over,” said Sarah Duffey, SRHS media relations director. “There’s no way we’re going to get through this if people who have symptoms don’t isolate.”
Ocean Springs mask campaign
Bond and Georgia Storey of SRHS talked Tuesday night to Ocean Springs Mayor Shea Dobson and the Board of Aldermen about the upward trend in cases and a mask campaign SRHS is sponsoring with the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber is handing out masks between 9 a.m. and noon Friday at the city Visitor’s Center on Washington Avenue, the second day of the event.
“We’ve got a trend that needs to be slowed down significantly,” Storey told the aldermen. “ … We’re not going to stamp out this virus, but we’ve got to slow it down because it’s going to impact our businesses, its going to impact our ability to go back to school, to church.
“It’s going to impact our hospitals.”
Storey, SRHS director of government and community relations, added:
“I think people have just grown tired of hearing about COVID, and that’s understandable. But the outbreaks we are seeing are going to be very, very difficult for all of us if we don’t all get together and try to slow this down.”
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has said the Mississippi State Department of Health is trying to work with local leaders to get buy-in on wearing masks and practicing other public health guidelines. He said buy-in from leaders is essential to safe community practices during the pandemic.
But at the Ocean Springs aldermen meeting, Mayor Shea Dobson, seven aldermen, plus eight staff members were seated together at a table, not wearing masks or social distancing.
Dobson recently canceled a downtown July 4th celebration only after questions were raised about the advisability of drawing a crowd, and medical and legal advisors cautioned against it.
Coronavirus spreading through young people
Ocean Springs, where COVID-19 positive tests were up 64.2% from July 1-8, is a magnet for young people who meet up at bars and restaurants in the heart of downtown.
Singing River Health System reported a total of 87 cases in Ocean Springs on July 8, compared to 53 on July 1, data obtained by the Sun Herald shows.
Statewide, cases have recently been rising fastest among young people, which also holds true in Jackson County. While young people weather the illness better than those 60 or older, they can still wind up in the hospital.
SRHS said a few patients under 30 are currently hospitalized. All have underlying conditions that can include obesity, diabetes and heart or lung disease.
“I think you have a lot of younger people in Ocean Springs who are getting it that are socializing,” Bond said. “We have a lot of people from Biloxi and other places that come to Ocean Springs. People love Ocean Springs.”
“People who are participating in nightlife that are face-to-face within less than 6 feet, or hug or shake someone’s hand or touch someone, are definitely at higher risk,” Bond said.
“ . . . Our contact tracing shows that the most common transmission is from a family member, friend or acquaintance.”
Contact tracing slows COVID-19 spread
Bond believes SRHS contact tracing helped slow the spread of the new coronavirus after the work started in early April.
Contact tracing was a key feature of the MSDH’s pandemic plan, but the number of cases statewide is now overwhelming for the state agency. One case can take a day to trace.
MSDH on Thursday reported a total of 33,591 cases and 1,204 deaths since the first case was diagnosed March 11 in Mississippi.
Contact tracers get in touch with the positive patient and work with them to contact others who might have been exposed. SRHS contact tracers also advise the patient on measures they need to take, including self-quarantine, and managing symptoms.
“I think that contact tracing through educating people helps slow the spread,” Bond said. “It provides specific education to the people affected. I think that’s a very important point.”
Here are tips Bond offered to slow the spread:
▪ Isolate, even if you have a mild symptom.
▪ Wear a mask when around others.
▪ Wash your hands often — not once a day but every 45 minutes to an hour.
▪ Take your temperature often.
▪ Watch for symptoms.
▪ Don’t assume you have sinus issues if you have a symptom.
▪ Avoid close physical contact.
▪ Clean and disinfect often.
▪ Avoid crowds.
▪ Maintain a social distance of 6 feet.
Staff Writer Margaret Baker contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 5:40 AM with the headline "People who ignore minor symptoms are spreading COVID-19 on the Coast, Singing River says."
