Public Health’s Communicable Disease team issues blanket isolation and quarantine orders

Public Health’s Communicable Disease team today issued blanket isolation and quarantine orders at humboldtgov.org/blanketorders to help Humboldt County be better positioned for an increase in new COVID-19 infections.

These orders, formally called Mass Isolation and Mass Quarantine orders, apply to all Humboldt County residents who have contracted COVID-19 or who were exposed to the virus and may be contagious. Both orders require a person to stay at their home or another residence until the contagious period has passed.

• Isolation keeps people with COVID-19 separate from those who are not sick.
• Quarantine keeps people who have been exposed to the virus separate from others until it is certain they are not contagious.

Previously, someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and anyone else who may have been exposed to the virus were issued individual orders for isolation and quarantine as part of the contact tracing process. These orders included name and address and were formally issued once test results were known. Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said the goal with these blanket orders is to put information in people’s hands at the time they are being tested, so that those who test positive have everything they need to act immediately.

“We will continue to reach out to everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 as part of our regular contact investigations, but as case numbers grow and the number of contacts for each case increases, we want to be sure that there is no delay in individuals knowing what they need to do to keep themselves, their family and our community as safe as possible,” Dr. Frankovich said. “This model has been used for some time in larger counties and simply helps to increase efficiency when there are larger numbers of cases to manage.”

The informational packet includes copies of the blanket orders and instructions for home care during isolation or quarantine. To read the documents in full, visit humboldtgov.org/blanketorders.