First Covid-19 positive reported for Nocona
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.
Montague County Health Officer Dr. Delbert McCaig informed County Judge Rick Lewis early Wednesday evening that a Nocona man tested positive in Wichita Falls to the novel Coronavirus.
Asked who would investigate where the man had been during the past two weeks, Judge Lewis replied, “Like I told you earlier, I don’t know. It’s not me.”
Asked about any of the patient’s close contacts going into self-quarantine, the County Judge replied, “That’s voluntary” adding he did not who, if anyone locally, had the authority to require quarantine.
The federal patient privacy laws, identifying information about the patient cannot be released nor confirmed by health-care professionals, a stipulation Judge Lewis said the county would respect.
The patient’s employer confirmed the positive test to The Nocona News mid-afternoon Wednesday, but the News waited for confirmation from health care professionals before breaking the story.
The employer said the man had undergone surgery recently in Wichita Falls, and after being released had become ill resulting in at least one trip to Nocona General Hospital Rural Health Clinic where he did not present sufficient indicators for testing under state and federal guidelines.
Someone must take responsibility for tracking down contacts COVID 19 patients had. Notify the CDC for information and find out how to proceed.
Does anyone know where they have been and who may have been compromised?
Is anyone trying to find out and when will anything be known?
The way this disease spreads this is not acceptable.
Judge Lewis should be trying to find out these things instead of passing the buck. He may not be responsible to find out directly himself but he should be pushing the issue for the people he is responsible to.