Press Release
Public Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kittitas County Outbreak Response Continued 2 of 2

Kittitas County, WA - 05/11/2020 - The Kittitas County Incident Management Team (IMT) continues to respond to the outbreak associated with Twin City Foods Inc. At this time, all of the patients who tested positive at Twin City Foods are stable. There are no hospitalizations. 34 are associated with the outbreak. Two patients will need to be re-tested, since results were indeterminate. The Kittitas County Dashboard is showing 40 for positive COVID-19 cases in our county. Positive cases are tracked by a patient’s address and not their place of employment.

All of the patients who tested positive are currently in isolation.  Every household member who lives with a person who tested positive is also under quarantine.  The IMT is working closely with individuals who live in Kittitas County to ensure their health and safety needs are being met during isolation or quarantine.  For individuals who live outside of Kittitas County, our IMT has contacted those health districts and will continue to coordinate with those jurisdictions.
 
The Kittitas County IMT is currently responding in a way that was provided to the Washington State Department of Health via a variance application, which outlined how we would test, provide isolation and quarantine, and work with positive patients to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our county.  To date, we have not heard any more information about our variance application from the state.  Our variance application continues to be on hold.
 
“We showed that we can respond rapidly with our residents, our partners, and our incident management team,” states Health Officer Dr. Mark Larson.  “We are doing everything we can to move forward, safely.  We ask our residents to start preparing now for Phase 2 activities.”
 
Business plans and personal preparedness will all help to assist the county in moving forward to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.  Businesses are welcome to use the sample plan and plan worksheets available on the county website.  Technical assistance to businesses is also available (not required).  Individuals can also prepare their household by planning in advance for the possibility of isolation or quarantine. Identify friends, family members, or organizations that can help support you with resources like medication, food, or other supplies.  For more information, you can visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/get-your-household-ready-for-COVID-19.html.
 
Please use the county website at www.co.kittitas.wa.us for more information or the Kittitas County Public Health Department’s Facebook page. For general COVID-19 questions, the Emergency Operation Center is at 509-933-8315 or 509-933-8305.
 

• Kittitas County Outbreak Response Continued 2 of 2 SPANISH.pdf
• Kittitas County Outbreak Response Continued 2 of 2.pdf

Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us

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Contact: Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer, 509-962-7515

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