BELL COUNTY, Texas — Bell County Public Health District identified the first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 late Thursday night.
The case is in the process of undergoing confirmatory testing with the CDC.
The individual is a 29-year-old man in Belton with a travel history in Barcelona and Paris from March 4 to March 10.
Bell County Public Health has initiated self-isolation protocol and contact tracing for this case.
The district said the case puts the county in a phase two of three alert plan. They provided details of what each alert level means.
Stage 1 (no confirmed cases of COVID-19)
Stay home if you are sick
Avoid contact with persons who are sick
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unclean hands
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throw the tissue away
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with a disinfectant
Don’t travel to areas with active community spread of COVID-19
Wash your hands with soap and water regularly and use hand sanitizers with at least 60% of alcohol content when soap and water are not available
Stage 2 (a confirmed case of COVID-19)
All of Stage 1 measures
Actively practice ‘social distancing’, which means whenever possible maintain 6 feet distance from other persons
Avoid physical contact with other persons in social and workplace settings
Stage 3 (community spread of COVID-19)
All Stage 1 & Stage 2 measures
Bell County &/or BCPHD may issue orders restricting and/or prohibiting mass gatherings and/or movement of people