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Athens County Confirms 13 New COVID-19 Cases For Feb. 18, Remains Level 3

Posted on: Thursday, February 18, 2021

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County has now had 4,480 total cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic after 13 were reported Thursday. The county also remained at a Level 3 Public Health Emergency.

The Ohio Department of Health confirmed the new cases on Feb. 18, 2021.

Analysis of ODH data indicates seven involved people aged 20-29, four involved people aged 0-19 and two involved people aged 70-79.

There are 460 known active cases in the county as of Thursday and 3,990 recovered cases, according to the Athens City-County Health Department.

The department also announced it has now administered 2,983 total first COVID-19 vaccine doses and 1,093 total second COVID-19 vaccine doses through its clinic at Ohio University Heritage Hall as of 2 p.m. Just more than 11% of the county has started the vaccination process, according to ODH.

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.

Athens County again remained at a Level 3 Public Health Emergency, according to this week’s Public Health Advisory map.

The county met four of the seven state indicators: new cases per capita, non-congregate cases, emergency department visits and outpatient visits.

Thursday at 2 p.m., the Ohio Department of Health announced 947,389 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 statewide after 2,282 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. There have been 49,061 hospitalizations and 16,611 reported deaths since the start of the pandemic.

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.