Officials with the Guthrie County Hospital and Guthrie County Public Health, late Friday night, confirmed four cases of COVID-19 in Guthrie County, but no one has been hospitalized. Officials said also, “There have been several questions regarding the case counts and what the accurate numbers are. Data released on the state dashboard and website may lag behind of local confirmation as it depends on the time that data is entered into the IDDS system by the hygienic and reference labs.”

According to Guthrie County Public Health Director Jotham Arber, “We continue to remind residents to take preventive measures to slow the spread of this virus. It’s important for everyone to stay home as much as possible and to practice social distancing –this simply means to stay away from groups of people, and to keep a 6-foot distance from other individuals.”

Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever (100.0 or greater) and shortness of breath. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should call your health care provider before going into the office. The provider may have special instructions for you and will determine if you should be tested.

All residents should:

■Stay home as much as possible. Leave only for essential errands like groceries or getting medication. When you run these errands, send only one person from the household, if possible.

■Stay home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities)

■Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm, and…

■Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

For up-to-date local information on COVID-19, visit adairguthriecountycovid.org