An Adult Male in Uintah County has been confirmed to have COVID-19. TriCounty Health released the following announcement on Friday morning: ‘TriCounty Health Department believes this case is a result of community-acquired transmission with recent travel to the Wasatch Front. “While this is our first case, we do not anticipate it being our last. We are asking people not to panic but to remain vigilant regarding their personal hygiene, physical distancing, and staying home at the first sign of symptoms,” emphasized TriCounty Health Medical Advisor, Dr. Karl Breitenbach. “Minimizing travel, even within our community, will lower the risk to yourself and others.” The patient is an adult male over the age of 18 and under the age of 60. The patient is not hospitalized and is currently recovering at home.’ Uintah County Sheriff Steve Labrum confirmed that the man with COVID-19 in Uintah County was released from Uintah County Jail earlier this month but offers a timeline of events. “There has been speculation that the individual contracted COVID-19 in the Uintah County Jail,” states Sheriff Labrum. “These are the facts based on jail records and my conversations with TriCounty Health Department officials: The individual was in the Uintah County Jail for more than four months before being released on March 16, 2020. He had no symptoms upon release. The individual told TriCounty Health he visited friends in Salt Lake County on March 23, 2020. Upon returning to Uintah County, he was seen by a healthcare provider on March 25, 2020, for symptoms associated with COVID-19. On March 27, 2020, TriCounty Health announced the positive test result. The individual is now quarantined and recovering at home. In speaking with TriCounty Health officials, they are confident the individual would have shown symptoms before March 25, if he had been exposed to COVID-19 in the jail. To reiterate, this individual did not develop symptoms of COVID-19 for more than a week after being released from jail and after visiting Salt Lake County.”
