Imperial County Public Health Officer Dr. Stephen Munday updated information on COVID-19 in Imperial County.

In a conference call press conference Dr. Munday said that there are 21 confirmed cases in Imperial County with an additional 9 individuals with test results pending. According to the Doctor , the number of cases is expected to increase rapidly as the virus spreads. As to how long we can expect the crisis to last Dr. Munday said at least until the end of April he added  that the County has already activated their Emergency Operations Center to keep officials updated on the crisis. 

According to the Doctor most of the local COVID-19 cases are due to travel but that there are some cases of social transmission locally. The travel cases should decrease because of the stay at home mandate as well as travel restrictions on international travel. Dr. Munday stressed the importance of complying with the stay at home restrictions as well as social distancing , washing hands , cleaning surfaces and the other recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the State of California. 

Testing availability is limited in the Valley. The Health Department utilizes the San Diego Health Department lab and El Centro Regional Medical Center is using the UCSD Health Center lab. Overall the number of cases in Imperial County is small in part due to our size and also in part due to our relative isolation. Because the sample size is so small , at this point ,officials are not able to draw any conclusions from the local cases. Information on any of the individuals is not releasable because of HIPAA regulations that protect a patients privacy.