The Marquette County Health Department has announced the first confirmed positive COVID-19 case in Marquette County.

The Marquette County Health Department was made aware of the positive case today, which was identified through commercial laboratory testing, a press release from the health department states.

The identified person is an adult male with a history of recent domestic travel through international airports. The individual has been in home isolation in accordance with current guidelines. The health department will notify people who have been identified as close contacts. They will be assessed for symptoms and monitored appropriately.

“This individual’s exposure was fairly limited to the community because he did follow all self-isolation, self-quarantine guidance from the state and federal government as soon as he became symptomatic, so very limited,” said Patrick Jacuzzo, director of environmental health and public information officer for the Marquette County Health Department. “The Marquette County Health Department, as far as contact tracing, we will contact any individual that’s indicated or implicated for contact tracing. If you’re not contacted by the health department, then you don’t have a specific disease transfer risk.”

The health department urges the community to continue to be cooperative with recommendations to keep yourself and others safe including following the “Stay Safe, Stay Home” orders and social distancing. People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to safely recover at home. If symptoms worsen, call a medical care provider prior to your visit.

COVID-19 symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. To prevent the spread of the virus people should wash their hands properly, avoid close contact with sick people and disinfect commonly touched surfaces.

Visit ww.mqthealth.org for more information about the health department.

See Wednesday’s edition of The Mining Journal for more information.