Virus still a concern; Fisher urges caution
Auglaize County Health Commissioner Oliver Fisher reported that although people of every age group are catching the virus, they have seen more cases involving those 20 to 30 as well as school age children in recent days. In Auglaize County there are a total of 612 cases as of this writing, 533 of which are confirmed.
Fisher didn’t think schools were the issue; rather, he said schools are a snapshot of the community and it is what kids are doing afterwards that are creating more of a problem. Fisher said this includes social gatherings among young people.
Fisher also said since people no longer have to be hospitalized to get tested, it is leading to higher case numbers. He repeated people need to be cautious.
“There is a lot of talk that the virus has changed to be less severe, but it is spreading more rapidly, and could still affect those who are vulnerable,” Fisher sad. He said though they haven’t seen many deaths, they have seen hospitalizations increase in Auglaize County.
Fisher encourages the public to make use of virtual meeting opportunties and to assess the risks when deciding to plan events.
He said wearing face masks and practicing social distancing continue to be important and the number of people at events should be minimal.
The Auglaize Health Department will also hold a drive through flu shot clinic Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the county fairgrounds. Health board members have recommended getting a shot in October to help maximize the length of immunity for the flu season.
ELSWHERE IN OHIO, indoor visits with residents of Ohio's nursing homes will be allowed once again as cold weather approaches, Gov. Mike Dewine said Tuesday, lifting a ban on instituted at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican governor said at his twiceweekly coronavirus briefing that details will come within a week and that in the meantime the state is asking long-term care facilities to examine their air filtration and ventilation systems in preparation.
Dewine also said it's possible the
state could institute realtime COVID-19 testing of visitors before they enter a nursing home, although the ability to offer that isn't available yet.
"Residents have needs, families have needs," Dewine said. "We also want to keep them safe and do what we can to reduce the chances of COVID coming into the nursing homes."
The state has allowed outdoor visits since late July after concerns grew about residents with memory issues such as those that come with Alzheimer's disease declining because of a lack of interaction. Permitting the practice is up to individual nursing homes, although the governor said he is concerned when he hears reports that homes still don't allow the visitations.
The coronavirus has hit longterm care facilities hard, with nearly 3,000 deaths reported among residents, or six of every 10 COVID-19 deaths in the state.
Also Tuesday, Dewine responded to supporters of President Donald Trump booing Lt. Gov. Jon Husted at Trump's rally in Dayton on Monday as Husted promoted the wearing of masks. The mention of Dewine's name at Vice President Mike Pence's rally in Zanesville last week also drew a negative reaction.
"Booing is a First Amendment right," Dewine said, adding that he understands not everyone will agree with the "tough decisions" he has made to slow the spread of the coronavirus. These have included a statewide mask order, including by schoolchildren, a ban on liquor sales after 10 p.m. and strict limits on spectators at fall high school sports events.
"People of goodwill have very, very different opinions about where the state should go, how we should deal with the COVID virus, even serious differences about how serious it is," Dewine said. His decisions are all based on medical science, he said.
Husted, a Republican, said his mask-wearing request is not for his benefit, but a way for people to protect others. "It's just a simple sign of how we should care about each other," he said.
Also this week, college campuses around Ohio have reported more than 6,400 positive cases of the coronavirus, spread across at least 20 public and private schools and mostly involving students. Ohio State University has had more than 2,600 cases. Miami University has had more than 1,375, and the University of Dayton reported more than 1,240.
Another roughly 1,150 cases have been reported by other campuses around the state.
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