Morgan Health Officials Remind Residents of Food Safety

By Benjamin Cox on April 16, 2020 at 5:55am

Morgan County Health Officials said there are 3 new pending tests in the county yesterday. Positive cases remain at 11 in total with 1 attributed death to the virus. 133 patients have tested negative for the virus in the county. Health officials reminded the public in their daily update yesterday that there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food, food containers, or food packing.

The virus is thought to spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. These droplets can land in the mouth or nose of a person who is nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

Officials say its still best to practice good safety cleaning hands and surfaces thoroughly, don’t cross contaminate foods by separating raw meats from other food, cook food to the right temperature, and refrigerate foods properly.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 1346 additional cases of COVID-19 cases in the state bringing the total number of positive cases to 24,593. Dr. Ngozi Ezike also announced 80 additional deaths over the last day, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to the virus at 948.