Lewis County Commissioners Gary Stamper and Edna Fund speak with directors from various county departments during a meeting on March 13.
After announcing two additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lewis County, Public Health and Social Services Deputy Director John Abplanalp said the virus has now “impacted” all areas of the county.
The total number of confirmed cases among county residents reached seven as of Thursday afternoon, Public Health and Social Services confirmed to the Board of County Commissioners in the daily COVID-19 informational meeting.
With cases growing, Abplanalp cautioned residents all around Lewis County to take the virus seriously.
“If our first three cases are in Centralia, it doesn’t mean you're safe if you’re in Morton,” Abplanalp said during the meeting. “Now that we have enough cases, I can tell you that we have cases throughout the county.”
Commissioners Edna Fund, Gary Stamper and Bobby Jackson all confirmed they’ve individually been asked by constituents where the cases have been confirmed. Civil Deputy Prosecutor Amber Smith stated that under federal and state medical privacy laws, the county is required to keep individual patient information confidential.
She added that under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, the only way the county could provide the information is if the patient gave the consent to do so. Additionally, the Public Health and Social Services department’s investigations fall into the need-to-know category, which is how they’re able to conduct the contact investigations.
“That doesn’t mean, necessarily, that they (Public Health) get to know the name of that person, even at that point,” Smith said during the meeting. “They just get to know that an individual that happened to be in that area, so even places where there could be a one-to-one contact with someone who’s tested positive, they don’t even receive full personal identifying information for that individual.”
Smith continued by acknowledging the emotion the disclosure limitations might invoke in some around Lewis County.
“I understand that can be frustrating and disheartening to citizens when we continue to have positive cases,” Smith said during the meeting. “Understand that those individuals that have tested positive do have rights and they do have a right to not have their information disclosed. Any information that is disclosed is on a need-to-know basis to combat COVID-19.”
Residents who are seeking peace of mind shouldn’t turn to geographical data, Abplanalp said. He’s also concerned that the data wouldn’t tell the full story.
“Part of the reason that we also don’t want to give this information out when we only have the very few cases is that we know there are probably a larger number of folks who have the virus and have not been tested,” Abplanalp said during the meeting. “Everyone has cases now, they’re spread out throughout the county and it really is important for people, given the fact that people can be infectious before they even show symptoms, it’s important to just practice all of those non-pharmaceutical interventions.”
While the cases have continued to increase in Lewis County, it hasn’t caught Fund off-guard. In the days and weeks leading up to the confirmations, Public Health and Social Services made it clear to the commissioners that with more testing, an uptick in positive cases would be the expectation.
While she said she’s being asked about the identities of those who have tested positive, Fund added she’s also been asked about the process of the contact investigations.
“The second question I’ve been getting from community members is ‘so, is the health department following up with these people? Where they’ve been, who they’ve seen?,’ yes they are,” Fund said. “If you haven’t been contacted, that means, at this point, you’re not one of those people that has been involved in that (case).”
Still, Fund doesn’t want Lewis County residents to get complacent in their efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Fund said. “Continue to practice those healthy practices, washing your hands, six feet apart, all of that.”
