Rock Island County reaches warning level for COVID-19. If cases continue to climb, the next step is closing businesses. – Quad City Times

The health departments note with expected additional cases coming, residents need to assume that they have been exposed to COVID-19.

The numbers are just part of the story, though, Dr. Cheryl True, medical director, for the Rock Island County Health Department, said. The numbers mean something if you know someone who is one of them or it is yourself, but the real story is what it entails the symptoms like fatigue, loss of smell or taste, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes besides a cough and shortness of breath. "We also see affects on the heart and nervous system and within our blood vessels," she said.

It's a multi-system disease, she added. "It affects more than just our lungs."

It's affecting some children, who get a multi-system disease, athletes in prime condition are being affected with heart complications and young adults are also being affected. Scientists are still in the early stages of understanding the disease, she said.

"We have yet to know what the long-term affects of this virus will be," True said.

People need to be cautious heading into the holiday weekend, she said, especially when around those with risk factors, including being elderly, having Type II diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell disease, cancer, COPD or lung diseases, kidney disease and immuno-compromised state, and people with weakened immune systems and obesity plus people with asthma, high blood pressure, strokes, liver disease or who are pregnant.

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Rock Island County reaches warning level for COVID-19. If cases continue to climb, the next step is closing businesses. - Quad City Times