Officials find trend in positive cases, explain glove efficiency

JACKSON, Tenn. — The number of positive COVID-19 patients in Madison County is continuing to go up.

“Of the 41 patients that we have, five of those patients are hospitalized, two of those five hospitalized are on the ventilator,” said Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department Director Kim Tedford.

Those are the numbers as of Monday morning.

Tedford says the rest have either recovered or are on their way to recovering, and there’s a trend starting to appear between the positive cases.

“For the most part it’s been they’ve been at community gatherings, or gatherings in their home,” Tedford said.

And if you’re wearing gloves out to the store or when getting food, you might not truly be protecting yourself.

“If you’re putting on a pair of gloves and not changing them out, all you’re doing is spreading that virus to other surfaces, if you come in contact with that virus,” Tedford said.

Instead, Tedford says washing your hands or using hand sanitizer when you leave the store or get home is a better option.

And in a change from last week, the CDC now recommends you wear a face covering if you are out doing that essential travel. It should cover from the bottom of your chin to the top of your nose to stop you from spreading the virus to others.

School resource officers have been moved to special patrol to help at stores and restaurants with upset customers, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department is seeing a decrease in people on the roads.

“We’re not gonna stop somebody for driving down the road unless we have a violation to stop them for,” Sheriff John Mehr said.

They also have started taking employees’ temperatures at the Criminal Justice Center and are keeping a close eye on the inmates.

“If we get an inmate that’s got a fever, we’re checking it, and we’re isolation-conscious about that,” Sheriff Mehr said.

And again, health officials want to remind you to stay aware.

“We have got to be vigilant through this,” Tedford said. “Stay at home like the order says, only do essential travel. Just follow the guidelines.”

The sheriff also says they’ve seen an increase in domestic violence calls since everyone is now staying at home.