A second person has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scott County, the health department confirmed Thursday morning.

“Even though we’ve had a positive test in the community, they still will not appear in the Scott County case count as it is published by our Department of public health,” Scott County Health Department Ed Rivers said Thursday in a briefing of the QC COVID-19 Coalition. “With communicable diseases, the county in which the resident resides is in charge of the coordination and follow-up. This is much more productive than when follow-up is done with an individual living across the state.”

The individual is a middle-aged adult between the ages of 41-60 and is not a resident of Iowa or Illinois. The case is travel-related, according to the health department.

They are currently recovering in the hospital. Rivers declined to which hospital they are at or what state the person is from.

It also was unknown Thursday how long the person has been in Scott County. Rivers said the person did what they were supposed to – they self-isolated, called ahead, south medical treatment and is being very cooperative with medical “authorities.”

“While this person is not a resident of our community this confirms what we've been saying - COVID-19 is in our community,” Rivers said.

“Eighty percent of the cases are mild. We may already have had many cases in our community, and it was just the sniffles, a cough, and no different from a common cold. Many people don’t go to the doctor for a common cold, so we don’t have a good handle on why we haven’t had a confirmed local resident test positive.”

said a COVID-19 test performed in Scott County came out positive. That person is not from Scott County and is not counted as a Scott County case, officials said.

No positive cases have been reported in Rock Island County as of Thursday afternoon.

Nita Ludwig, Administrator of the Rock Island County Health Department, said all testing must come with a medical provider’s referral.

“We feel that it's important to take time and explain how the testing process works for individuals,” she said during the briefing. “If you believe you have symptoms - fever, cough, shortness of breath - call ahead to your provider. Describe your symptoms. Your provider will use a process to determine if you need to come in and be evaluated. Even if you have mild symptoms, stay home.”

Rivers has said that because private providers are not required to report COVID-19 testing, the health department is not able to provide testing numbers.

Ludwig said the procedure is different at the Illinois Department of Public Health.

When tests go through one of the three state labs in Chicago, Springfield, and Carbondale, local health departments must give authorization before a test sample is sent, she said.

“However, no authorization is required for samples that are tested through private labs,” she said. “Because of this, the Rock Island County Health Department no longer can report an accurate number of tests that are being done in the community.”

Going forward, the health department will only report positive cases, she said. None have been reported as of Thursday afternoon.

Health officials say social distancing, proper handwashing, and isolation of people who feel sick are still the strongest tools to help minimize the spread of the coronavirus in the community.