As of December 17, Cook County recorded its 100th case of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The county received notice of six new cases, four males and two females, since December 10. Of the men recently diagnosed with COVID-19, two were in their 60’s, one in his 70’s, and one was in his teens. One of the females was in her 60’s and one was in her 30’s.
Officials from the Cook County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) distributed COVID-19 saliva test kits at various sites throughout the county, which were made available at no cost to Cook County residents and local businesses.
The kits were offered as an attempt to get a “snapshot in time of how much the virus is spreading throughout the community, as well as to increase access to testing,” reported Cook County Public Health Supervisor and EOC Co-incident Commander Grace Grinager.
Tests were distributed around the county on December 15 and December 16 and were supposed to be returned the following day to testing sites at the Lutsen and Gunflint Trail Fire Halls. Otherwise, all tests can be returned to the UPS dropoff at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais. A limited supply of tests was available: one per household or five per business. Tests must have been used by December 21, 2020.
“We encourage people who do not have symptoms but would like a test, to use these test kits,” said Grinager, adding, “If you test positive with a saliva test, please call public health right away to report your results at (218) 387- 3605.” Anyone who has symptoms of COVID19, including fever, cough, headache, sore throat, shortness of breath, joint/ muscle pain, or loss of taste or smell, or who has been told by local public health that you have been exposed to a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, should seek out testing services from Sawtooth Mountain Clinic at (218) 387-2330.
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