By 1812Blockhouse
RIchland Public Health has released its overview of the COVID-19 pandemic’s local, state, national, and global impact impact. This informational synopsis is provided on select days each month.
The next update will be forthcoming on Friday, October 22.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland Public Health
By 1812Blockhouse
From record highs, Richland County schools are now experiencing a rather sharp decline in reported infections of COVID-19 for children and staff.
When the Ohio Department of Health shared updated numbers on Thursday, Richland County districts and individual buildings reported a total of 125 infections in the last week in fourteen school settings. Two weeks ago, that number stood at over twice that amount. Then there were 15 districts or buildings, led by a reported 118 cases in Mansfield City Schools.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland County Schools
By 1812Blockhouse
The latest numbers for reported cases of COVID among Richland County schools were shared by the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday.
Those figures show a sizable decrease in case levels for both students and staff. In a similar fashion, the number of cases reported in the county’s long-term care facilities (nursing homes, assisted living centers) remained low.
As shared on Thursday, there were 173 positive COVID test results reported on September 30, as compared to 267 reported the previous week, and 279 earlier in the month. This overall figure included 149 students and 24 staff members in 16 districts or buildings — one more than the previous week.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland County Schools
By Jake Zuckerman, Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio children have elevated levels of lead in their blood at more than two times the national rate, according to a study released Monday.
The research, from JAMA Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association, found about 5.2% of Ohio children have elevated levels of lead in their system.
Nationally, the rate is about 1.9%. Ohio ranked second nationally in terms of states with the highest rates of children with elevated blood levels.
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By 1812Blockhouse
Using almost any measure, the communities in Richland County are in a very difficult place.
Whether you refer to the current rate of COVID-19 infection as a second or a third “wave,” it is certain that the situation has worsened substantially in the last 14 days.
Reported numbers bear this out.
Take, for instance, the number of school students and staff with positive tests over the last week, and compare that number to other locations in Ohio. As we reported on Thursday, Richland County had a total of 267 cases in local schools. Compare this to the number in Delaware County reported by our sister site, 1808Delaware. There, despite a steep rise, the number stood at 130.
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By 1812Blockhouse
The number of positive COVID tests reported from Richland County school districts and buildings remained at a high level when numbers were announced on Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health.
Led by a reported 118 student cases at Mansfield City Schools, there were a total of 267 cases among students and staff. This number is a slight reduction from the 279 positive tests included in the total two weeks ago.
There were 15 districts or buildings included in the report, up 2 from the September 9 report. Those included:
More…Featured, Ohio Department of Health, Public Health, Richland County Schools
By 1812Blockhouse
The increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the Mansfield and Richland County communities is having an impact in various settings, including schools, businesses, and local government.
On the latter note, the City of Mansfield is taking steps to protect its workforce and visitors by issuing new requirements to enter into and access city offices.
The Mansfield City Building has been largely open to the public since it reopened its doors on January 25 following a period of closure due to virus levels. Now, with a recent rapid rise in infections, the City Building will have new entrance requirements.
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By 1812Blockhouse
As the 2021-2022 school year progresses, it is clear that the precipitous rise in COVID infections in non-school settings is also taking place in Richland County’s educational facilities.
Numbers released by the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday show that the number of reported infections in the county’s school districts and buildings almost doubled in the last seven days. Last week’s numbered was more than twice that of the week before.
Last Thursday, in the second set of full results after the launch of school, there were a total of 141 reported cases during the previous week. These included 112 new student infections and 29 staff. These were found in 12 different school districts and buildings.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland County Schools
By 1812Blockhouse
In a Tuesday letter to the Madison School Community, Superintendent Rob Peterson shared news that the increase in COVID infections in the district, as well as the number of absences caused by other illness, has necessitated immediate action.
For that reason, Madison High School and Middle School will be moving to remote learning beginning on Thursday, September 9, and lasting until Wednesday, September 15, after which in-person learning will resume.
This will not necessarily impact athletic and other school events, however each will be subject to change on an individual basis.
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By 1812Blockhouse
The rapid rise in COVID cases seen in the general population is now clearly reflected in infection rates for Richland County school districts and buildings, where total infections tripled in one week.
Last Thursday, in the first set of full results after the launch of school, there were a total of 43 reported cases during the previous week. These included 34 new student infections and 9 staff. These were found in seven different school districts and buildings.
This Thursday, September 2, that number of affected districts and buildings had grown to 12, and the total number of new infections stood at 141. This amount represents 112 students and 29 staff members.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland County Schools, Shelby City Schools
By 1812Blockhouse
With the first full week of school finished for many Richland County schools, this Thursday was the first real opportunity to assess the level of COVID impacting local students and teachers.
As it turns out, there were new reported cases from seven public or private school districts/facilities.
All in all, 34 new student cases were reported as well as 9 instances of positive COVID results for staff — for a total of 43.
More…Coronavirus, Featured, Public Health, Richland County Schools
Richland Public Health officials have been notified by the Ohio Department of Health that West Nile Virus (WNV) has been detected in mosquitoes in Mifflin and Weller Townships.
“To be very clear, this is not a human infection case, but the first positive WNV mosquito samples in Richland County this year,” Joe Harrod, Director of Environmental Health at Richland Public Health, stated. Health Department officials will be spraying the WNV positive areas in Mifflin and Weller Townships to discourage transmittal of the mosquito-borne illness to residents. See schedule at the bootm of the page here: https://richlandhealth.org/our-community/mosquitoes/
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Special to 1812Blockhouse
The following message was shared earlier this week by OSU President Kristina Johnson. In it, Johnson shares that OSU is now requiring vaccination for all students, faculty, and staff.
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
The rising prevalence of the more transmissible Delta variant is fueling the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations – including in young and otherwise healthy unvaccinated people. Central, southern and southeastern Ohio have now recorded the highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients since January. Further, the number of hospitalized patients in these areas of the state rose an alarming 448% between mid-July and mid-August.
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By 1812Blockhouse
In a social media announcement on Tuesday afternoon, the City of Mansfield announced that it is again closing its Utility Collections office to the public.
The announcement shared:
“Because of issues involving the current state of the pandemic, the City has closed its Utility Collections office to access by the public/customers via the lobby and the drive-up window at least through the end of this week.
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By 1812Blockhouse
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise in recent days, both statewide and in Richland County.
In Ohio, over 3,000 daily cases have been reported three times in the last week, with the largest numbers recorded since February. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have more than doubled since the beginning of the month. The 21 day trend rose from 1,183 on July 30 to 3,446 on Thursday.
Government and public health officials are taking notice. Earlier this week, Richland Public Health issued the following notice concerning the wearing of masks at its facility:
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