Mills County Public Health has been notified of an additional positive confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mills County. This brings the total number of confirmed positive cases to the county, to seven. The new case is an adult, in the age range of 41-60 years, and the virus was contracted through close contact with a positive case.

Our health department is currently conducting contact investigations to identify and follow-up with any people who had close contact with the ill individual. Close contacts are educated about self-monitoring their health status by our health department nurses. They are required to do daily symptom and temperature checks; as well as quarantine themselves for 14 days as a precaution.

Three of the cases have recovered and the remaining four cases are being followed by Mills County Public Health. All residents are urged to stay home as much as possible, stay away from groups of people and maintain a 6-foot distance from other individuals. This is needed by everyone, regardless of confirmed cases, because we know there is substantial spread of COVID-19 throughout Iowa.

Mills County Public Health Administrator Julie Lynes states, “I know there are concerns in the county about the increase in positive cases we are seeing. I want to assure Mills County residents that the increase we are seeing is related to the increase in COVID-19 testing and test availability.”