Alexandria now has at least 225 cases of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, city officials announced Sunday night. Many of the recent results were from tests done four to eight days prior.
"This lag in test results underscores the continued need for all community members to stay home as much as possible, even if they don't have a diagnosed illness," according to City officials.
The Alexandria Health Department has communicating with infected individuals, keeping track of their illness and helping them contact people who may have been in close enough contact with ill individuals.
Now, residents have a tool to make that communication easier. Alexandria officials have released a document with information offering guidance on who to contact and what to say to those people. (See the document here.)
Fairfax County is providing a similar tool, available here. In Fairfax County, there were 1,011 cases as of Sunday morning.
The vast majority of people who get COVID-19 recover fully. However, the illness can be unpleasant and is not something you want to spread to others, even accidentally.
"Talk to everyone who has been within 6 feet of you for more than ten minutes while you were sick, including the 48 hours BEFORE you developed symptoms," the Alexandria and Fairfax County documents advise, giving blank space to write down those people's names and a sample email to send.
The CDC has said that it is possible to spread the illness while having no symptoms of it, which means you can infect other people who feeling completely healthy yourself.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and believe you've been in close contact with a confirmed case, the City is asking residents to contact the Alexandria COVID-19 Information Line at 703.746.4988, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Alexandria Health Department does not provide COVID-19 diagnosis or testing and due to testing supply shortages across the nation, not everyone who wants a test can get one.
