Four new COVID-19 cases reported in Dubois County
The Dubois County Health Department announced four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed bringing the total up to 22 positive cases in the county.
We are working closely with Indiana State Department of Health and local officials to ensure that contacts of the patients are identified and monitored, said the health department. Anyone who may have an exposure risk, has been or is being notified about potential exposures so that appropriate infection control procedures can be followed.
Dubois County Health Department encourages all to visit the Indiana State Department of Health website for more comprehensive data on demographics. There is a direct link to the Indiana Data Hub at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/ as well as visiting our website at www.duboiscountyin.org
To remain in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), we will not be able to disclose any information specific to the patient for each case. HIPAA is intended to protect INDIVIDUAL medical and health information. However, as we continue to review Dubois County resident positive cases, a report will be released weekly on Fridays.
We appreciate the community’s willingness to respect individual’s privacy. We must continue to assume that this virus is community widespread, the department stated in a press release.
Are we really supposed to believe that there are no Covid-19 related deaths in Dubois County? Despite many of the surrounding counties reporting deaths? That seems highly unlikely.
Well, while no fan of the health department’s lack of better transparency with its reporting policies (HIPAA does NOT prohibit releasing certain non-ID related information that the health dept claims it does, or hides behind), it’s pretty hard to hide a body or to cover them up (no pun intended) in terms of reporting a death. While not all deaths are announced in some form through the media, the vast majority are, and you can usually surmise by information contained in write-ups and obits what the general cause may have been, plus in such a smaller county like ours, many folks of family and friends, etc, already know. Pretty sure if anyone of a decedent’s family/friends knew of a covid death, or if the coroner or hospital or other authorities encountered a covid-caused (or “related”) death, they would be duty-bound to report it and it would be similarly reported by the health dept. Just a hunch – could be wrong.
10 special characters. keep trying!
Why don’t they tell us places the infected had visited? That’s nit releasing any medical background or name of the person. This county is terrible on reporting and testing