News

Athens Co. Confirms 20 New COVID-19 Cases For April 15

By: David Forster
Posted on: Thursday, April 15, 2021

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County has now had 4,994 total cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic after 20 were reported Thursday. The county also remained at a Level 3 on the Public Health Advisory System.

The Ohio Department of Health confirmed the new cases on April 15, 2021.

Analysis of ODH data indicates 12 involved people aged 20-29, four people 0-19, two people 40-49, one person 30-39, and one person 60-69.

Two additional hospitalizations were reported on Thursday, one for a person aged 20-20 and one for a person 60-69. According to the data, 194 people in Athens County have been hospitalized due to complications related to this coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

There are 171 known active cases in the county as of Thursday and 4,823 recovered cases, according to the Athens City-County Health Department.

The department also announced it has now administered 9,824 total first COVID-19 vaccine doses and 5,817 total second COVID-19 vaccine doses through its clinic at Ohio University Heritage Hall as of 2 p.m. A total of 34.38% 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 three of the seven state indicators: new cases per capita, new cases increase and non-congregate cases. But it did not drop below the high incidence threshold of over 100 cases per 100,000 over a two-week period, keeping it at the Level 3 designation.

One nearby county saw a change in its level with Washington County dropping from Level 3 to Level 2.

Thursday at 2 p.m., the Ohio Department of Health announced 1,048,109 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 statewide after 2,164 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. There have been 53,636 hospitalizations 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.