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NEDERLAND — A local woman has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Jefferson County Health Department confirmed the test for the Nederland resident Monday morning.

It is the first known coronavirus case linked to a Nederland resident.

Mayor Don Albanese said local officials were alerted to the diagnosis on Sunday.

“We don’t know a whole lot yet,” he said. “It’s a 44-year-old female. We don’t even know her name. I’ve got a call into the city manager and sometime this morning we’re going to talk to a doctor and find out a little more about it.”

Health officials said it is unknown if the COVID-19 case is travel-related.

Investigation is currently ongoing as to who may have come into contact with the infected person.

“People need to do their due diligence with washing and hygiene,” Albanese said. “We need to stress that more and more. Of course, the social distancing is in effect. The police department and fire department and our emergency management team are together and talking about it.”

Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said the Port Arthur Health Department is conducting the investigation into what might have led the woman to contract the virus.

“That will be very informative for us,” he said.

“It’s what the governor told us. The more testing being done, the more results we’ll see. It’s not shocking that this happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with that person and their family, and hopefully this is an isolated case.”

Duque said the community needs to continue good hygiene habits and social distancing.

“This weekend we saw some improvement as far as people adhering to the order by (Jefferson County Judge) Jeff Branick,” Duque said. “We need to be very aware of what is essential and what is not. There are things people do privately that are not part of a business plan. They have good thoughts, but at this time people need to stay at home as much as possible.”

— Staff reporter Mary Meaux contributed to this report.