News
Athens Co. Confirms Two New Cases of COVID-19
By: Aaron Payne
Posted on:
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County confirmed two new positive cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the county’s total to eight since the start of the pandemic.
The Athens City-County Health Department announced the cases in a press release sent Friday, May 15.
No demographic information was provided by the health department regarding the two cases.
The department said after the first confirmed case on March 26 that investigations into patients’ close contacts would be conducted.
There are four active cases in the county as of Friday. There has been one death related to COVID-19 in the county that happened in March.
According to a release earlier this week from the health department, 658 people had been tested at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital and 41 people had been tested at Holzer Health Systems’ Urgent Care as of Monday.
Anyone experiencing respiratory symptoms is asked to call their primary care physician, urgent care, or emergency department before arriving for care to let them know that they believe they are experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19 virus.
The Ohio Department of Health announced 26,954 confirmed & probable cases of COVID-19 statewide as of Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. There have been 4,791 hospitalizations and 1,581 reported deaths.
The DOH makes the following recommendations to protect yourself from illness:
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; dry hands with a clean towel or air dry hands.
- Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
Ohio’s coronavirus call center is open to answer questions from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The hotline number is 1-833-4-ASK-ODH or 1-833-427-5634. More information is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.