Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

ROSEAU, MINN – As Covid-19 continues to spread across our country, state and community, LifeCare Medical Center and LifeCare Public Health want the community to know what they need to do if they have been exposed to the virus.

“If a person has been within 6 feet of a Covid-19 positive person for greater than 15 minutes, they would be considered a close contact exposure,” says Brooke Homstad, Public Health Nurse.

“The first thing that needs to be done is to quarantine or separate from others as you watch for symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell.”

Quarantine must occur for 14 days after the last day of close contact with a person diagnosed with Covid-19.

In order to quarantine properly every person needs to:

• Stay home

• Separate yourself from other people in and out of your home by designating a specific room and bathroom if able.

• Stay away from people who are high-risk for getting very sick

• Do not use public transportation

• Wear a face mask if you need to be around other people

• Avoid sharing personal household items

• Wash your hands often

“It is important to know that if someone gets tested and the result is negative that person needs to continue to quarantine for a full 14 days after the last exposure and monitor for symptom,” says Homstad. “The infection can develop at any time during the quarantine period.”

“In addition, we want everyone to continue to follow the recommendations of health experts on how best to protect against and contain the spread of this virus. Wash your hands often, stay six feet from others, wear a mask, stay home when able and get tested if you have any symptoms,” says Homstad.

LifeCare Medical Center testing site hours are Monday – Friday, 8 am – 5 pm.

Call prior to arriving for a test: 218.463.2500

Call the Altru hotline at 701-780-6358 for clinical questions or visit health.state.mn.us/diseases /coronavirus. For more information, please contact LifeCare Public Health: 218.463.3211.