Marion County has first COVID-19 case

County health nurse Diedre Serene said Thursday the first positive case of COVID-19 has been identified in Marion County.

Serene said the patient is a woman between ages 20 and 44 who has traveled outside the county.

The health department has already identified and contacted people who were exposed.

“We will be monitoring contacts for fever and respiratory symptoms,” Serene said. “No further information about the patient will be released.”

The county health department is following established disease investigation protocols, Serene said.

Serene said local health providers collect specimens and send them to KDHE or a private laboratory for testing. In this case, the test was performed by KDHE.

“The availability of testing equipment nationally is at a low level, however, our community currently has kits available,” Serene said. “Testing is done based on criteria.”

Anyone with symptoms should contact their health care provider. Symptoms include cough, tightness of chest or trouble breathing, and fever of 100.4 or higher, Serene said. Anyone with symptoms should phone their health care provider instead of simply showing up at the office. If they have difficulty breathing, they should call 911, she said.

“I would like to encourage people to practice social distancing,” Serene said. “Follow the governor’s stay-at-home order.”