Gulf County Chamber of Commerce COVID Update 8-20

Patronize businesses that show their KINDNESS to customers by wearing masks and following sanitation guidelines.

The following information is from the Florida Department of Health in Gulf County. Please contact Jessie Wagner Pippin with any questions about the information presented in the update. PLEASE read the information carefully.   Jessie Wagner Pippin Public Information Officer Florida Department of Health in Gulf County 2475 Garrison Ave. Port Saint Joe, FL 32456 Office Phone: (850) 705-6103 Cell Phone: (850)227-4193 Fax: 850-227-7587 E-mail: Jessie.Pippin@flhealth.gov Webpage: www.floridahealth.gov

GULF TESTING NUMBERS STATUS Ongoing County Totals: Unduplicated positive tests (rapid antigen and PCR): 765 Positive inmates: 250 Positive long term care (staff and residents): 12 Overall hospitalizations: 44 Total deaths: 6 Total Tests: 5,195 Negative tests: 4,424 Weekly Snapshot: 8/7-8/13 *updated every Friday Positivity during this week: 16% Positive tests this week: 78 Negative tests this week: 492 Deaths reported this week: 2 State Positivity: 7% (as of 8/19) Median Age in Gulf: 46 How can we bring positivity down? Follow CDC guidance. Social Distance. Please wear masks in places where social distancing cannot be maintained. Wash your hands frequently. Disinfect surfaces. Stay home when ill. Stay home when you’ve been a contact to a positive case to interrupt the spread. Please note: The demand for the testing and designated laboratory, may cause a slight delay in reporting as reflected on the Florida COVID-19 Dashboard.

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Parents and Caregivers of school-age students: We know back to school looks and feels a lot different this year than it has in previous years. Your school has new protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The health department is working very closely with the school district. Just a quick reminder: If your child or any member of your household are currently waiting on COVID19 test results for active infection, please wait for those results before sending your child to school. This is extremely important. We’ve already heard about situations in other counties involving students attending school and later finding out their test was positive. This can be prevented, and more kids can stay in school if we all work together. Please also keep your child at home if you answer yes to any of the following questions. Call the health department if you have any concerns or questions. Daily Health Questionnaire for students: • Does your child or anyone in your household have any of the following symptoms? (fever 100.4 or above, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, headache, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, new loss of taste or smell) • Has your child or anyone in the household traveled outside of the country or to any highly affected areas in the United States in the past 14 days? • Has your child had direct contact (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) with anyone who has tested positive with COVID-19 within the last 2 weeks? • Is there anyone in your household under instructions to self-isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19?

UPCOMING COVID-19 TEST SITES GULF August 24: Wewahitchka, Lake Alice Park, 10-4 Central, (drive-thru style) FRANKLIN August 20: Carrabelle, First Baptist Church (206 SE Avenue A, Carrabelle), 9-5 Eastern (first 200 participants, walk-up style) August 21: Eastpoint, 248 US Hwy 98 in the Coastal Property Management parking lot (drive-thru

Available hospital bed capacity, including ICU capacity in Gulf and neighboring counties, can be found by clicking the button.

Hospital Bed Capacity

Talking with children about Coronavirus Disease 2019 CDC has created recommendations to help adults have conversations with children about COVID-19 and ways they can avoid getting and spreading the disease. Children may worry about themselves, their family, and friends getting ill with COVID-19. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear.

Tips for talking to children

Back to School Planning: For many families, back to school planning will look different this year than it has in previous years. Your school will have new policies in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You may also be starting the school year with virtual learning components. Whatever the situation, these checklists are intended to help parents, guardians, and caregivers, plan and prepare for the upcoming school year.

Back to School

QUARTANTINE/ISOLATION FACTS  1. Please do not go to work if you are sick. Please do not be around others when you are not feeling well. Stay home. If you think you’ve been exposed to the virus and have symptoms, call your health care provider or health department to get tested. 2. If you test positive for COVID19, please be honest about the people you’ve been in close contact with. Why is this so important? We are trying to interrupt disease spread. Close contacts need to be able to quarantine so that the spread of the virus stops. Your personal information is kept completely confidential. The health department will work closely with you and help reach out to anyone you were in close contact with during your infection period. When someone finds out they need to quarantine, all they hear is “you’ve been identified as a close contact to 2 a positive case.” From there, we provide quarantine guidance to follow and help answer questions about the virus. 3. A great resource to answer many frequently asked questions can be found on the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html 4. The quarantine period is important. We need close contacts to a positive case to quarantine for 14 days from the date of their exposure to the positive individual. Getting a test that is negative during the quarantine period does not stop the clock. We have seen many individuals develop infection on the second week of quarantine, so it is really important to stay quarantined for the full 14-day period. Household quarantine can be a little more stretched since it can be very difficult for a positive individual to properly isolate from everyone else. If you live in the same household as a positive case, you need to quarantine while the person is sick and once this individual is no longer infectious, that’s when your quarantine 14 period will start. We explain all of this to every close contact identified and can provide quarantine orders to each individual. 5. I tested positive for COVID19. When can I be around others (no longer infectious)? If you tested positive for COVID19, you need to stay at home and isolate per the guidance provided by public health officials. If you think or know you had COVID-19, and had symptoms, you can be with others after at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and at least 24 hours has passed with no fever without fever-reducing medication and symptoms have improved. If you tested positive for COVID-19 but had no symptoms, you can be with others after 10 days have passed since your test. If you develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the guidance above that includes fever and symptoms improving. Follow this link to stay tuned on updates: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/endhome-isolation.html Depending on your healthcare provider’s advice and availability of testing, you might get tested to see if you still have COVID-19. (Ex. residents of a nursing home.) If you are tested, you can be around others when you have no fever, respiratory symptoms have improved, and you receive two negative test results in a row, at least 24 hours apart.

COVID-19 Hotline is available at 866-779-6121 email COVID-19@flhealth.gov Follow the CDC.gov website for the latest guidance on COVID-19 and check out Floridahealth.gov to keep up with state-specific updates.

For the full County COVID-19 Data Summary for each county in Florida, please visit: http://ww11.doh.state.fl.us/comm/_partners/covid19_report_archive/county_reports_latest.pdf Scroll to page 47 of the report to review the statistics for Gulf County. Interesting information such as age categories and hospitalizations are listed.

FL DOH COVID 19 Report

An Emergency Declaration of the City of Port St. Joe, Florida; recognizing the National, State and Local State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic; requiring the use of facial covering or mask in public settings within the city limits of Port St. Joe, Florida where CDC social distancing guidelines cannot be followed.

The CDC has updated strategies and recommendations for employers responding to COVID-19, including those seeking to resume normal or phased business operations. We created a youth screening tool. The questions were modified for the adult workforce. In addition to regular temperature checks, the follow questions can be asked to employees: Daily Health Questionnaire Does you or anyone in your household have any of the following symptoms? (fever 100.4 or above, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, new loss of taste or smell) Have you or anyone in the household traveled outside of the country or to any highly affected areas in the United States in the past 14 days?  Has you had direct contact (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) with anyone who has tested positive with COVID-19 within the last 2 weeks? Is there anyone in your household under instructions to self-isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19?

LIBRARIES Both Gulf County libraries remain closed until further notice. Curbside pick-up now available THREE days a week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Please call or visit NWRLS.com to place holds on library items.

MENTAL HEALTH COVID-19 have you feeling STRESSED/ANXIOUS/DEPRESSED/UNSURE? NEED SUPPORT? CALL 850-270-8911, available 9-5pm EST. If you are in need of immediate mental health services call one of the agencies below available 24/7: • National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) • SAMSA Disaster Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 or the Crisis Text Line: Text “HOME” to 741-741 • Florida Blue launched a 24-hour, free emotional support helpline for all Floridians. Any Floridian – even if uninsured or insured by another plan – can call 833-848-1762 for support in managing feelings of stress, anxiety, grief or fear related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Counselors cannot provide information on COVID-19 testing or treatment. • Big Bend Community Based Care oversees a wide network of community partners in the fields of mental health counseling, substance use disorder treatment and child protective services throughout an 18- county area in Northwest Florida, from Escambia to Madison counties. Florida residents can call the agency’s hotline at 1-888-95-GetHelp or 1-888-954-3843 at any time, day or night, and staff a member will help connect them to a provider in their community, regardless of whether they have health insurance. For more information about Big Bend Community Based Care, visit BigBendCBCGetHelp.org.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES - BAY/ GULF/ FRANKLIN COUNTIES: Financial Emergency/Hardship: 850-763-0475 1. Call First Monday of each month after 9am for screenings 2. An initial screening will take place on the phone to complete the application process and receive an appointment. a. Proof of need will be required: past due utility bill, proof of check stub from place of employment (before and after date affected). FOOD PANTRY LOCATIONS  2nd and 4th Tuesday of the Month-WIG Community Center, 401 Peters St., Port St. Joe Farm Share distribution will be the 1st and 3rd Monday of month at 4:00pm. Drive-thru pick up on a first come, first serve. Second Harvest of the Big Bend: 2nd Saturday of each month from 9:30-11:30, Honeyville Community Center, 240 Honeyville Park Road. (3 family per vehicle limit – all families do not have to be present to receive food. Please, no children. Prepare for long wait times. Please ensure trunk/bed of vehicle has space available. Do not get out of your vehicle. Lower tailgates/lift trunks prior to turning in.

Have you completed your 2020 Census form? An accurate count is crucial. The results are used to determine how much funding local communities receive for key public services and how many seats each state gets in Congress. State and local officials also use census counts to draw boundaries for congressional, state legislative, and school districts.

2020census.gov

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Joe Whitmer Executive Director   Gulf County Chamber of Commerce 321B Reid Ave Port St Joe, FL

http://live.oysterradio.com/