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Athens Co. Confirms 79 COVID-19 Cases Since Start Of Pandemic

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County has now had 79 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic after 16 additional cases were confirmed Wednesday.

The Athens City-County Health Department announced the cases in a press release sent July 8.

No demographic information was provided by the health department regarding the cases. And analysis of ODH data indicate 12 of the cases involve people aged 20-29 and 4 cases involve people aged 0-19.

Ohio University confirmed Tuesday that eight student athletes tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks after being allowed to return to campus. The local health department said Wednesday that these cases will only count toward Athens County’s total if the student lists their permanent residence as in the county.

The health department said after the first confirmed case on March 26 that investigations into patients’ close contacts would be conducted.

A graphic showing cases of COVID-19 in Athens Co.
[Athens City-County Health Department]
There are 45 known active cases in the county as of Wednesday. There are 33 people presumed to have recovered. Eight people in the county have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. There has been one death related to COVID-19 in the county that happened in March.

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.

An age breakdown of Athens Co. COVID-19 cases for July 8.
An age breakdown of Athens Co. COVID-19 cases for July 8. [ODH]
The Ohio Department of Health announced 60,181 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 statewide as of Wednesday at 2 p.m. There have been 8,489 hospitalizations and 2,991 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.

 

This article has been edited to clarify that the eight OU student athletes who tested positive for coronaivirus won’t count toward Athens County’s total unless they list their permanent residence as in the county.