JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Jefferson County will no longer send its residents a release letter at the end of the 10-day isolation or 14-day quarantine period related to COVID-19.
This comes as the county has seen a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and remains in the highest alert status of red. The county's seven-day rolling average of cases at 95.05 per day/per 100,000 residents.
According to the Jefferson County Health Department, staff and the county's partner - Maximum - cannot sustain current response protocols.
The health department in Jefferson County receives on average 200 new COVID-19 positive cases per day and has hit peaks of over 330 cases in a day this past week.
The agency has responded by contracting for additional case investigators through their recently acquired partner Maximus, but the recent surge in community cases has already exceeded the increased staffing, which has resulted in over 3,000 community cases that have had delayed initial case investigation or follow up.
The department said contract tracing has been focused on the state-mandated youth cases of 3 to 19 years old and long-term care facilities.
Beginning on Nov. 20, Jefferson County Health Department will no longer provide a follow up phone call and release letter at the end of the 10-day isolation or 14-day quarantine period.
“At this time, our priority is ensuring timely notification of all new case for investigations and contact tracing,” Preparedness Coordinator, Jeana Vidacak said. “By eliminating the time our staff dedicated to creating release letters, making follow up phone calls, and sending release emails, we will gain back valuable time to help us get caught up on the backlog of cases we have.”
Jefferson County Health Department will continue to follow CDC guidelines for isolation and quarantine:
If a person in isolation has received a positive PCR or Antigen test or has had direct contact with a positive and is now symptomatic.
- To discontinue isolation, the person must be fever-free for at least 24 hours, have had a significant improvement in symptoms and have passed at least 10 days from the start of symptoms.
- For those with more severe illness, the isolation period could go up to 20 days. Please consult a health care professional if you still experiencing significant symptoms past day 10.
- Jefferson County Health Department will champion positive health outcomes and behaviors through innovative programs and community engagement
- For individuals who have not experienced symptoms, isolation will be for 10 days from the date the test was collected.
- Employers: A positive lab report supports the need to isolate or quarantine if the case is within the household
A person on quarantine is someone that has had direct contact with a positive COVID-19 case. Quarantine should last 14 full days from the last date of exposure. If the individual does not become symptomatic, they can discontinue quarantine after the 14th day.
- Exposure counts as day zero. Example: if you were around a positive case on Monday, you will start your 14-day period on Tuesday.
- Living in a household with a positive case increases your likelihood of transmission. It is extremely important to isolate and quarantine away from individuals within a household. This means separate living conditions (bedrooms and bathrooms when possible), wearing masks when you must be in the same space (limiting this as much as possible) and practicing good hygiene and disinfecting.
- Anyone on quarantine that becomes symptomatic is considered a case. They should isolate for 10 days from symptom onset.
- Employers: Continue to monitor the health of staff especially upon return from quarantine.
