A third person in Pacific County was diagnosed with covid-19 and is being treated and isolated in an out-of-area medical facility.

The person is the third to be diagnosed while in Pacific County and the fourth covid-19 case to be linked to the county. A contact tracing investigation began after the county was notified about the new case and health officials do not believe the person was out in the public while contagious. Close contacts of the person are being found, notified, and told to quarantine. Anyone with symptoms will be able to get tested for covid-19.

If the case investigation reveals exposure to the general public, that information will be released, said Katie Lindstrom, director of the Pacific County Department of Health and Human Services.

The medical staff involved in transferring the patient out of the area used personal protective equipment. They are being treated as potentially exposed and are being quarantined and offered testing.

The first covid-19 case attributed to Pacific County was reported on April 10, though the person involved was not living in Pacific County when diagnosed. That person is being treated in another state.

Notification about a second case was announced on April 18 and a third on April 19. Both those patients are isolating at home in Pacific County. After conducting contact tracing investigations the county does not believe the public was exposed to the covid-19 virus prior to the two people isolating.

The county does not believe the most recent case was linked to the ones reported over the weekend.

“We continue to encourage the public to maintain social distancing by staying at home except for essential business and practice personal protective measures to include, washing hands often with soapy water for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, and wearing a face covering in public,” the county wrote in an April 22 news release.

As case counts continue to increase, the county will notify the public of new covid-19 cases, the news release said.

In the interest of confidentiality, officials decline to say in which half of the county the cases are located, or where the infected persons were tested.

“We understand the frustration felt by some due to the lack of details surrounding the case[s],” the health department said in a Facebook posting. However, federal healthcare confidentiality law “prevents us from sharing information that could be used to identify individuals who’ve tested positive for covid-19. … Should our case count increase, we may be able to share aggregate data regarding location in the future, but at this point, with only two cases, we are unable to do so.”

People interested in learning more about the county’s response to covid-19 can go to https://www.pacificcountycovid19.com/.

Information and guidance can also be found at www.coronavirus.wa.gov.

People can also call Pacific County Emergency Operations Center at 360-875-9407 or 360-642-9407 with any questions, or if they would like to be screened and scheduled for a covid-19 test.