We learned today that a tribal member in our local community has tested positive for COVID-19 and is hospitalized. We are encouraged by a report from Dr. Alan Shelton, our Tribe’s clinical director, that the member is not critically ill and is getting good treatment. Our thoughts are with the tribal member and family.
Because of the risk of exposure, we ordered the Tribal Administration Building deep-cleaned and sanitized this weekend. On Monday, only employees who must be on-site should enter the building. Admin still will be closed to non-employees.
Like other communities in the U.S., we unfortunately have expected that one day someone close to us would contract the illness. We expect there will be more cases. We raise our hands to our dedicated medical professionals at Puyallup Tribal Health Authority who have been caring for their patients since this public health crisis began. They are living our values every day.
We encourage you to read the following statement from Dr. Shelton. As always, please visit our COVID-19 web page for updates and resources: http://puyallup-tribe.com/COVID19/covid.php. You can visit PTHA’s website at EPTHA.com.
A message from Dr. Shelton, clinical director of the Puyallup Tribe:
As many of you know a tribal member has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been hospitalized. The patient has tested positive. The tribal member is not critically ill and is getting good treatment, and we are monitoring closely. This patient’s close contacts will be notified to be on a 14-day quarantine.
That someone in our community contracted this illness is not a surprise. We knew that at some point this would be in our community because there is no known immunity to this virus. However, most who contract this illness will only experience mild cold-like symptoms. We should be looking for fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If you experience these and are feeling ill, please contact us at the health authority for next steps.
Remember, this disease is not airborne. That means you cannot get it by breathing the same air as someone else. However, it is transmitted on droplets and by touching surfaces that have been coughed on. So let’s continue to social distance. If you are sick, stay home and wear a mask. Otherwise practice social distancing. Stay 6 feet away from others. Do not shake hands. Cover your cough. Wash your hands frequently.
I have also been recommending people take the supplement Quercetin at 500 mg a day.
I want to remind everyone that we are already noticing the positive effect of social distancing and overall emergency room visits are decreasing.
We will beat this!
