Seward County Health Department Suspends In-Office Activities Until July 20, 2020

Three employees of the Seward County Health Department have tested positive for the
Coronavirus, COVID-19. In order to quarantine effectively, employees who were not positive
have transitioned to working-from-home. All staff have been tested—results are pending at this
time. The health department has been temporarily closed to thoroughly clean and sanitize all
surfaces. Employees who did not test positive will return to the office on Monday, July 20.
Appointments will resume July 24.
Anyone who may have been exposed to the positive employees while at the Health Department
will be notified through the contact tracing process. It is believed there is low risk of exposure to
the public since staff wore masks and there were barriers between staff and the public.
COVID-19 testing is still available through the Health Department and will resume July 20. In
April, the Unified Command of the Emergency Operations Center transitioned COVID-19
testing and sample gathering to the Seward County Fairgrounds. This forethought has allowed
the testing to continue despite the positive cases in the Health Department. Additionally, local
COVID-19 testing is still available at Xpress Wellness and Southwest Regional Medical Center.
Anyone who is seeking a COVID-19 test can call the Seward County Health Department
Monday, July 20, to schedule an appointment. Because the Health Department office is closed,
recovered numbers for Seward County COVID-19 cases will not be available at this time.