News

Athens County has not had any confirmed cases of COVID-19. But residents are being asked to first call their PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN if they are experiencing an unexplained lower respiratory illness. This includes those who are returning from China, Italy, South Korea or Iran within the last 14 days and are experiencing a fever, cough and possible respiratory problems, or those who have been informed that they had contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus.

Those without primary care physicians are asked to call the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 call center at 1-833-4ASKODH.

IF a primary care physician recommends an Athens county resident get tested for coronavirus, O’Bleness ER or Holzer Clinic Urgent care require that you CALL AHEAD so they can prepare for their arrival.

Those two facilities are they only ones capable in Athens County of gathering samples for coronavirus. Testing of those samples would be done in Columbus and results are expected within 24 hours.

Health officials also recommend you call 911 if you are “experiencing a medical emergency, you are sick enough that you need to go to the hospital, especially if you recently started experiencing shortness of breath, or you’re sick and you are a high-risk individual, such as an older patient or a person with an already weakened immune system,” according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

For the most recent information regarding COVID-19, visit the Athens City-County Health Department website or Facebook page.

Note: Information was updated 03/11 with latest recommendation to call primary physician first instead of the ER