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Athens Co. Remains At Level 2 Public Health Emergency, Confirms 15 COVID-19 Cases For October 29

By: Aaron Payne
Posted on: Thursday, October 29, 2020

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County remained at a Level 2 Public Health Emergency as 15 COVID-19 cases confirmed Thursday brought its total to 1,346 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Athens City-County Health Department confirmed the news in a press release sent October 29.

Athens County only triggered two of the state’s seven indicators this week: new cases per capita and non-congregate cases.

To reach Level 3, a county must trigger at least four indicators.

The county was upgraded to Level 2 seven weeks ago.

The Ohio Department of Health updated its data regarding cases involving  long-term care facilities late Wednesday. The data correlates most of the increase in cases among the older population in Athens County. It identified Hickory Creek of Athens as having 17 cases among residents in the current week and seven cases among staff in the current week.

Analysis of ODH data indicates eight of Thursday’s new cases involved people aged 20-29, three involved people aged 60-69, two involved people aged 0-19, one involved a person aged 30-39 and one involved a person aged 50-59.

There are 286 known active cases in the county as of Thursday. There are 1,058 recovered cases, according to the local health department. A total of 46 cases have required hospitalization since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been two deaths related to COVID-19 in the county.

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 208,937 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 statewide as of Thursday at 2 p.m. There have been 18,800 hospitalizations and 5,275 reported deaths.

ODH 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.