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Athens Co. Confirms Two Deaths Related To COVID-19, 63 New Cases For December 8

By: Aaron Payne
Posted on: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County has now had six total deaths related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic after two were confirmed Tuesday. The county now also has had 2,433 total cases of COVID-19 after 63 were reported the same day.

The increase in cases can partially be credited to a backlog of approximately 13,000 antigen test records that date back to November 1 being added to the total case count statewide.

The Ohio Department of Health confirmed the deaths and new cases on December 8.

Analysis of ODH data indicates the deaths involved a person in their 70s and a person aged 80 or older.

Regarding the new cases, 16 involved people aged 20-29, 13 involved people aged 30-30, nine involved people aged 50-59, eight involved people aged 0-19, six involved people aged 60-69, five involved people aged 70-79, four involved people aged 40-49 and two involved people aged 80+.

Four additional cases involving a person in their 20s, a person in their 40s, a person in their 70s and a person 80 or older required hospitalization. ODH indicated the total number of hospitalizations in the county since the beginning of the pandemic is now up to 101.

There are 636 known active cases in the county as of Tuesday. There are 1,791 recovered cases, according to the Athens City-County Health Department.

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.

On Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Ohio Department of Health announced 510,018 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 statewide after 25,721 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. There have been 30,226 hospitalizations and 7,103 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.