As COVID-19 cases continue to rise locally and nationally, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department is launching a new campaign—Slow the Surge—urging community members to join the Health Department's efforts to slow the spread of disease.

"We recognize the sacrifices that have been made," said Jon Mooney, Assistant Director of Health. "Now, in the face of this unprecedented surge, we are asking you to dig deep and do a little more for a little longer."

Here is what the community can do to help Slow the Surge:

Wear a mask

Now more than ever, masking is highly encouraged, regardless of vaccination status.

"Many of us backed off of this strategy after getting vaccinated, but Omicron is showing us that masking is once again necessary to help curb spread, even among the vaccinated," Mooney said.

When worn properly, any kind of mask offers some protection against COVID-19, but a surgical mask, N95 or KN95 provide the best protection from the Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible.

Get a boost

If you have not yet chosen vaccination against COVID-19, the Health Department urges you to do so as soon as possible. If you are already vaccinated, schedule a booster dose when you are eligible.

COVID-19 vaccines have continued to be highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death. In the wake of the Omicron variant, booster doses are proving critical. Only 5% of people in Springfield who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 2 weeks had received a booster dose. Nearly all patients hospitalized in Greene County to date have not received a booster dose.

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Vaccination and booster opportunities are available across the community. You can schedule an appointment and find more vaccine opportunities at Vaccine417.com or by calling the COVID-19 Call Center at 417-874-1211.

Take a test

The Health Department launched an interactive map of testing opportunities in the Springfield-Greene County area to aid community members in finding a COVID-19 test. You can access this map and more testing information at COVIDTesting417.com.

If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, you should seek testing and stay home until you can get an appointment or until your symptoms resolve completely.

If you are exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and you are boosted, you do not need to quarantine, but it is recommended that you get tested 5 to 7 days after the exposure or if you begin experiencing symptoms. If you are unvaccinated or haven't received a booster, you should quarantine until you can get tested 5 to 7 days after your exposure.

If you test negative, you may come out of quarantine, but continue masking for another 5 days. If you test positive, stay home until your symptoms have completely resolved—a minimum of 5 days. Once symptoms resolve and your isolation has ended, a mask should be worn for an additional 5 days. You can find personalized isolation guidelines by using the Health Department's Quarantine and Isolation Guidance Questionnaire.

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Common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever/chills
• Congestion or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Fatigue
• New loss of taste or smell

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Media may contact the Health Department PIO Team by call or text at 417-380-2556 or email at [email protected].

Springfield-Greene County Health Department

"Helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives."

health.springfieldmo.gov | facebook.com/SGCHD | twitter.com/SGCHD

417-864-1658

227 E. Chestnut Expressway

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