Just Wednesday The Observer published a story about the cancellation of an awards banquet here because the guest of honor had interacted with someone who’d tested positive for the coronavirus in California. In it we wrote, “So far only a handful (of COVID-19 cases) have been diagnosed in Georgia, and none of them near Colquitt County.”

We can’t say that anymore.

Thursday evening, reports arrived from Albany’s Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and Valdosta’s South Georgia Medical Center that each of those hospitals was associated with one presumptive case of COVID-19. 

The Albany hospital’s press release said its patient was from the Atlanta area, where several cases have been confirmed and others suspected. He was visiting in the Albany area when he became ill and was treated at Phoebe before being transferred to a hospital nearer his home, where he was diagnosed with the illness.

Similarly, someone was treated at SGMC Thursday through Saturday before being transferred to a hospital in Florida, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19, according to reporting by the Valdosta Daily Times.

With Moultrie only about 50 miles from either hospital, residents here can’t pretend the illness is happening “somewhere else.”

If you haven’t already started, now is the time to take up the recommendations from health officials:

• Wash your hands frequently. Use soap and warm water and wash for at least 20 seconds. That’s about the same time as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.

• Try not to touch your face with unwashed hands. Doctors say if the virus is present on your hands, that escorts it right to your mouth and nose and into your respiratory system — which is where it needs to be to make you sick.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue then throw the tissue away.

• Avoid shaking hands.

• Try to avoid groups of people. Doctors are urging people to stay about six feet from the nearest person. Several events have been canceled or have made other accommodations to prevent crowds from gathering. The NCAA basketball tournament is being played without fans. The National Basketball Association’s season is on hold after a player was diagnosed with COVID-19. Morning television shows are being broadcast without a live audience.

• Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables and handrails regularly.

• Increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting the air conditioning.

With the flood of information — and misinformation — about the coronavirus, it’s hard to maintain perspective. By most accounts, COVID-19 is slightly easier to transmit than the seasonal flu and has a slightly higher death rate. But seasonal flu kills as many as 56,000 people each year, according to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most diseases cause more severe effects to people with compromised immune systems or other health issues, and COVID-19 appears to follow that trend. Most — but by no means all — of the deaths have been among elderly people, and a study cited by National Geographic on its website identifies high blood pressure and diabetes — two very common underlying health issues — as prevalent among the fatalities.

Nobody wants to get sick, but if you’re young and healthy, you’ll probably be fine. Recommendations like those above will help you stay well and help to keep you from spreading the virus to others.

If you are older or if you have health issues besides the coronavirus, COVID-19 can be very serious. You need to be even more conscientious of the precautions — and so do the people who interact with you.