The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in St. Louis County.

The individual is a woman in her late 60s with no underlying health conditions, said St. Louis County Public Health Division Director Amy Westbrook. The individual is currently recovering at home and her infection has been linked to domestic travel, not community transmission. No essential services have been requested yet.

"The public health system does an extensive contact interview," Westbrook said at a news conference Saturday. "We ask about all extensive contacts. This individual reported very few contacts, only household contacts."

Those household contacts have been asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days from their exposure date and will be monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms.

Westbrook said the county will not be releasing where in St. Louis County the individual lives.

"We know that St. Louis County is a large county. We recognize many people will be curious where this individual resides," Westbrook said. "In reality the recommendation remains the same regardless of where this individual lives."

The Minnesota Department of Health informed the county of the confirmed case Friday evening. The individual was tested on Tuesday.

Commissioner and St. Louis County Commissioner Patrick Boyle said it's a matter of respect and privacy.

"Out of respect for this woman and her family, she deserves that privacy," Boyle said.

Across the county, people have been preparing for the first confirmed cases for weeks, with many people working 10-15 hours a day to prepare for what's coming next.

"With that, I know there's fear in our community, but I know we have a very strong community," Boyle said. "I want to give best wishes for this individual that is going through this, for her and her family to know that we are working around the clock to keep our community safe."

The individual was tested before the Minnesota Department of Health imposed tighter restrictions on who can get tested for COVID-19, as testing remains limited due to a shortage of necessary materials at the labs that perform the testing. Now, only health care workers, individuals who are hospitalized and those living in congregated living settings meet the criteria to get tested.

In the absence of an adequate amount of testing supplies, St. Luke’s chief medical officer and emergency room physician Dr. Nick Van Deelen said the public can leverage health measures such as social distancing and self-isolation, while encouraging people to consider their mental health and use the time to safely reconnect with people.

"If you haven't paid attention yet because you thought it wasn't coming to Duluth, it's here, so time to stay home," Van Deelen said. "Check on your neighbors — stay 6 feet away — take a walk, greet people, but the isolation is important."

He reiterated the importance of not seeking medical care if one has manageable symptoms and no underlying conditions.

"If you are healthy and you have what seems like a bad cold, you're able to breathe, you're able to eat and drink, you should stay home. You should not seek medical care," Van Deelen said. "You should isolate yourself away from other family members and you should be very deliberate about washing your hands, wiping off doorknobs. If you have to be out and around other people, wear a mask. If you can't wear a mask, wear a bandanna.

"We are blessed in this region to have fantastic health care and we are prepared and we will be there for you," Van Deelen said.

Commissioner Boyle stressed the importance of setting the standard of social distancing in his own family in order to protect others.

"It's about protecting our loved ones that are at highest risk," Boyle said. "It's about our grandparents, it's about those with co-existing conditions. That's who we have to put in the back of our head to move forward on this."

Before Saturday, the closest confirmed case was in Douglas County, Wisconsin.

Anyone with questions regarding identifying symptoms or whether testing is needed can call Essentia Health at 1-833-494-0836 or St. Luke's at 218-249-4200.

Non-clinical questions, such as preventative steps to take or anything travel-related, can be directed to the St. Louis County Public Health information line at 218-625-3600 or the Minnesota Department of Health at 651-201-3920.

This article was last updated at 4:30 p.m. March 21 to include when the individual was tested for COVID-19. It was originally published at 11:20 a.m. March 21.

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