The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 in Riley County. The patient, currently in home isolation, is a 57 year old female, and a resident of Manhattan.
Riley County Health Department continues to work with KDHE to identify people who may have come into close contact with the individual while she was infectious. Close contacts will be monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms and quarantined at home following CDC guidelines.
The Riley County Health Department will provide a live update this afternoon at 4:15 p.m. The public can view the update on the Riley County Facebook page at https://facebook.com/rileycountyhealthdepartment.
“Our main goal is to keep the community informed and safe,” said Riley County Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs. "We are in constant communication about the situation. No further orders have been issued at this time. As we complete the investigation of the individual's activity in the community, we will have more information to make the determination about further orders."
KDHE issued new guidelines for testing on March 23. Until testing supplies and laboratory capacity are increased, Riley County is following these KDHE recommendations.
The following patients with COVID-19 symptoms should be tested for COVID-19:
- Patients hospitalized with severe lower respiratory illness
- Healthcare workers
- Patients in other public safety occupations (e.g., law enforcement, fire fighter, EMS)
- Patients involved in an illness cluster in a facility or institution (e.g., healthcare, school, corrections, homeless/shelters, other institution/congregate setting)
- Individuals with underlying health conditions that would be treated differently if they were infected with COVID-19
A screening hotline staffed by medical personnel is available every day from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. to provide guidance for anyone who has symptoms. The screening hotline number is 785-323-6400.
A Q&A hotline for general questions about the coronavirus response in Riley County is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Q&A hotline number is 785-587-4526.