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The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has doubled in Putnam County.
With six new cases confirmed on Friday, March 20, the county now has a total of 12.
The individuals have been quarantined and will continue to be monitored carefully, the Putnam County Department of Health said in a statement.
The department said its communicable disease staff is "interviewing these individuals to learn about their movements, and identify all close contacts," noting that "contact tracing then begins, which includes asking for a detailed history of where they have traveled, worked, shopped, and more.
"On the basis of these answers, the communicable disease staff will compile a list of people who may have been potentially exposed. The staff then contacts each of these people to explain their risk. Regular communication and monitoring for symptoms of the disease continue for these contacts.
The department of health said it is not able to release the name of the towns with lab-confirmed positive cases. The department said it follows HIPAA (patient privacy) and New York State DOH regulations, protecting this information.
"The New York State Department of Health determines the threshold for the number of cases when information can be shared, and at this time, the Putnam County case number does not meet the threshold," the department noted. "This is the same for reporting any other communicable disease."
On Thursday, March 19, the number of Putnam cases went from two to six.
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