LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
PARIS—A wave of viral respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and the flu, are sweeping across Edgar County. The recent spread of viral infections, a nationwide trend, is forcing several local hospitals and healthcare institutions to implement tightened visitor restrictions.
Horizon Health announced several restrictions on Monday, Dec. 30, including a limit of two visitors at a time for patients, a prohibition of any visitors under the age of 18 and a prohibition of any visitors outside of parents and grandparents for pediatric patients. Visitors exhibiting symptoms of a respiratory illness, including fever, sore throat and cough are asked not to visit the Horizon Health campus.
Union Health, located in Terre Haute, Ind., implemented its own set of visitor restrictions Thursday, Jan. 2.
Amy Switzer, Director of Quality and Home Care at Horizon Health explained there is currently no set stopping point for the new restrictions.
“There is no specific timeframe at this point—it is something we are evaluating weekly with our internal positive lab numbers and reviewing the IDPH Respiratory Illness dashboard,” she said. “When the numbers and positive rates decrease … for a period of time, the restrictions will be lifted.”
According to Switzer, respiratory illnesses reported at Horizon Health are not limited to one virus. The hospital is “monitoring and trending positive numbers for all those respiratory illnesses (COVID-19, RSV, flu) as well as for gastrointestinal illnesses.”
Some patients have tested positive for more than one virus simultaneously.
Switzer also revealed that Horizon Health is seeing a rise in hospitalizations due to respiratory illness, as well as an increase in patient transfers due to complications from the same viral infections.
“We do have more respiratory illness admissions currently, but there are also more positive respiratory illnesses that are causing severe disease in certain populations, requiring transfer to tertiary hospitals which are currently experiencing bed shortages,” Switzer explained. “(This is) sometimes requiring transfers to hospitals farther away than (we) normally transfer to.”
Reports from local healthcare officials offer a broad sense of the risk present in Edgar County, but the exact number of active cases is harder to pin down.
“They do not release the numbers anymore like they did a couple of years ago, and the CDC tracks the overall lab numbers, but just resumed again today after the holidays,” Kim Ross, Administrator of the Edgar County Public Health Department (ECPHD), told a Prairie Press reporter Friday, Jan. 3. “The normal now is to self-test and stay home if positive, so no numbers get reported here either.”
Ross and her team are following several worrying trends in the area, including a potential COVID-19 outbreak at a local long-term care facility in Paris, but details are muddy at best.
“This is the only case we are seeing right now because it is considered an outbreak, but even the case count is still in the works,” she explained.
Although the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not release specific case totals, it does release status updates on its Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel. As of Saturday, Jan. 4, Edgar County is experiencing an increasing number of emergency care visits for COVID-19 and the flu, as well as a very high and increasing number of visits among patients with RSV.
Even as hospitalizations for patients with respiratory complications increase, local healthcare professionals are waging a war on two fronts. Health concerns aren’t limited to COVID-19, RSV and flu, according to Ross.
“We are hearing of many cases of COVID just (by) word of mouth, and what we are really worried about is Norovirus,” Ross said. “That seems to be nationwide and active in our region right now.”
Norovirus is a gastrointestinal pathogen that can cause symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever, chills and body aches. The virus is highly contagious and frustratingly robust.
“(It) can live on surfaces for weeks and it takes a pretty strong sanitizer to kill it,” she said, later adding, “After (being) infected, we can shed the viral particles for days after being over the virus, and it is not easily washed off of hands, so it spreads fast.”
Ross encouraged Edgar County residents to wash their hands regularly and diligently, be mindful of others, and monitor their symptoms regularly.
“As we move into…the colder months, we tend to be inside more in congregate settings, breathing the same air and touching the same doorknobs,” she said. “Diligent hand washing and staying home if you are sick are two important things you can do to protect yourself, family and the community.”
Switzer echoed Ross’ sentiments.
“The most important (health tips are) proper hand hygiene, staying at home if you are ill, cleaning and disinfecting shared spaces in your home and covering your cough and disposing of tissues appropriately if you must go out in public,” Switzer said.
For more information regarding local respiratory illnesses and potential outbreaks, visit www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html or contact the ECPHD at 217-465-2212.
Flu shots are also available at the ECPHD.