By: 1812Blockhouse Staff; Richland Public Health
The stark reality of COVID-19 hits home each time that updated numbers are provided by the State of Ohio and Richland Public Health.
At 2:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon, just before the beginning of Governor DeWine’s daily news briefing, the Ohio Department of Health shared the following statistics relating the virus across the Buckeye State:
- Infected — 17,303
- Probable infections — 702
- Deaths — 937
- Probable deaths — 81
The trending numbers for infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are often highlighted by the Governor each afternoon. Some concern is present as trends for total cases and deaths are moving up slightly, although those numbers are not exact snapshots and may reflect previously unrecorded incidents.
Locally, difficult news hit Richland County on Wednesday when Richland Public Health reported the second Richland County COVID-19 fatality.
In a release, the organization shared:
““On behalf of Richland Public Health and the entire Richland County health community, we express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the patient who died,” said Sarah Humphrey, Health Commissioner for Richland Public Health. “Our thoughts go out everyone in Richland County, as well as all Ohioans, who are grieving losses while battling this virus as well the families of everyone affected by this pandemic.”
The case was originally reported by Richland Public Health and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) when there was a positive test for COVID-19. As is Richland Public Health policy, any additional identifiable information will not be released about the patient to respect the family’s privacy. This is the county’s second death; the first death was reported on April 8.
All local health departments have been working tirelessly preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic as each case is identified. This includes reaching out to all known contacts of COVID-19 cases to help prevent the spread of this disease.
“With each positive COVID-19 test reported, Richland Public Health immediately starts a process to identify close contacts to the case in order to limit the potential of further exposure to the public,” Humphrey said. “Our goal is to contain the spread of coronavirus as much as possible and limit exposure, especially to the most vulnerable populations in Richland County.””
As a reminder, a comprehensive list of link to local and state resources can be found on 1812Blockhouse’s Richland Coronavirus Information Page.
