Jill Schramm/MDN Dr. Jeffrey Sather wears a face mask in demonstrating how to put on, take off and wear a mask appropriately at a news conference in Minot City Hall Tuesday.

No staff have been quarantined but two patients were notified after Trinity Health learned Tuesday of a hospital employee who tested positive for COVID-19.

Five of at least 37 healthcare workers in North Dakota who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been Trinity employees, Randy Schwan, a Trinity vice president, said at a news conference Tuesday. The workers are in quarantine. Community spread and travel have been identified as the source of illness.

The latest employee began experiencing symptoms over the weekend. Schwan said an investigation into the employee’s contacts in the previous 48 hours resulted in the need to contact a couple of patients. No staff required quarantine.

“Just know that it’s around, and nobody is immune, including healthcare. When we see it at Trinity Health, we are acting swiftly and thoroughly to ensure that patient and staff safety is a priority,” Schwan said.

At the end of March, 49 Trinity healthcare workers were exposed to a patient who became symptomatic for COVID-19 while in the hospital. All were quarantined but none tested positive, Schwan said.

“Most of that whole group is coming back to work under the return-to-work criteria that has been established by the CDC and the health department. So, as we suspected their risk was low,” Schwan said.

A Minot police officer who tested positive over a week ago also remains quarantined while recovering.

Schwan said a group is being organized to shop for people in quarantine. More is to be released in the near future about that effort and how to get involved.

Because community-spread virus is a predominant method of contagion, Minot health officials are encouraging Minot residents to wear masks when outside their homes.

“Assuming that you might be a COVID-19 carrier and you are asymptomatic, that is going to help prevent the spread from you to other people. It also does provide some protection for you as an individual, but primarily that mask is used to prevent any unknown COVID cases from spreading throughout the community,” said Lisa Clute, executive director at First District Health Unit. “You should continue to do everything you can to protect yourself, whether or not others are wearing masks or gloves. Each of us needs to protect ourselves and others.”

In demonstrating the proper use of a face mask at the news conference, Dr. Jeffrey Sather, chief of staff at Trinity, stressed hand washing before handling a mask and never touching the mask during wear. Handwashing should occur before removing the mask, and only the straps, not the dirty mask, should be touched.

“Don’t be touching the mask. Don’t be wearing it around your neck. Don’t be putting it on your forehead. Wear them appropriately,” Sather said.

Trinity also is asking for more community-donated cloth and 3-D printed masks.

“We’ve had a great response and have collected around 700 or so for Trinity Health and they’re using them today in the non-clinical areas,” Schwan said of the cloth masks.

“At the same time, we’ve also put out a call for help with 3D printed masks,” he added. “We are allowing those 3D masks to be worn in clinical areas, in place of a surgical mask, so that we can preserve and conserve the amount of medical surgical masks that we have.”

A Facebook group, ND 3D printed medical mask, has formed to coordinate volunteers with access to 3D printers.

Schwan also spoke about Trinity’s protocols for protecting healthcare workers and non-COVID-19 patients during the care of suspected and positively tested COVID-19 patients. He said COVID-19 patients are isolated with a care team that is dedicated to them. Members of that team typically do not come and go from the patient’s room but have any need supplies delivered.

If necessary for a patient to be taken to radiology or a laboratory, the team and patient wear appropriate coverings, and proper infection control is conducted through washing and equipment disinfection.

“This has been going on for decades. It’s not something that’s new with coronavirus and it won’t stop with coronavirus when we defeat that,” Schwan said.

Eight patients have been hospitalized in Trinity. Five have been discharged to complete their recovery at home.

“People need to take this serious and to adhere to the suggestions of the CDC, the North Dakota Department of Health and the health officials, that if we take this serious that we can knock this down without having to go to a complete lockdown of the community, with essential business only and shelter in place,” Mayor Shaun Sipma said. “This is going to have greater economic and psychological impacts well into the future if we don’t take this serious now. We take it serious now, we can put an end to it and get back to what we hope is normalcy very quickly.”

Tammy Ness, clinical director at North Central Human Service Center, advised the public to watch for signs of stress at this time that could lead to behavioral health problems. Signs include irritability, moodiness, sleep problems, anxiety, excessive worry, negative thinking or trouble concentrating.

North Central, with the support of Trinity Hospital, encourages anyone in crisis to contact the center for emergency care as an alternative to presenting to the emergency room. The center has staff available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 857-8500.

Services are available through telehealth using smartphones and computers. On-site services are available in some instances, Ness said. Rural residents do not need to drive to Minot but staff will work to connect with them.

Trinity also is offering telehealth visits in homes.

“We are rolling that out to more and more clinics in more and more locations outside of Minot,” Schwan said. “Patients appreciate not having to come out of the house for their follow-up care.”

As providers identify patients who is eligible, they offer the opportunity. Trinity staff walk patients through the set up of the technology necessary on a computer or phone.