By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County is experiencing a new trend in local COVID-19 cases. Not only are the cases growing more rapidly, but they also involve more young people.
“A good number of the cases are younger individuals,” Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Batey said Tuesday during a conference call with county officials.
For the first time since tracking the COVID cases, the median age of people testing positive in Wood County dropped to 49 today.
Younger people are more likely to go out and interact with others, not wear masks, and not observe social distancing directives, Batey said.
The health department will be watching to see if those younger cases of COVID spread to older adults in the next few weeks.
Wood County has seen the number of active cases jump from 10 a few weeks ago to 65 this week. Cases are considered active when the health department is tracking individuals who are under isolation in their homes.
“There’s been quite an increase over the last few weeks,” Batey said.
There are likely many more people who are asymptomatic, but who are spreading the virus.
“We’ll never find out about them,” Batey said.
Every Wednesday, the health department now lists the number of active cases, and identifies the Zip Code areas that are seeing the most cases.
“Currently it’s pretty spread out,” with no real hotspots identified in the county, Batey said.
The health department is finding multiple cases of three or more connected people testing positive for the virus.
“As more individuals get together and do activities, we see these cases,” Batey said.
The county is currently experiencing between 10 and 12 new cases most days – compared to the two or three new cases a day the county was seeing prior to the last few weeks.
Wood County’s hospitalization and mortality rates are still staying relatively low, he said.
“We don’t want to get to the point where our healthcare system is packed,” Batey said.
Statewide, public health officials are keeping an eye on hotspots such as Cincinnati and Columbus.
“We certainly don’t want that to come to Northwest Ohio,” he said.
Batey continued his push for people to wear masks, maintain 6 feet of distance between others, and wash hands properly.
Erin Konecki, deputy director of the Wood County Emergency Management Agency, echoed the need for people to follow those basic safety measures – especially people in positions of authority.
“As leaders, you’re being looked at as how you are handling this,” Konecki said.
Masks are not political – but are “science-based,” she said.
“The masks are one of the weapons we have to keep it down,” she said.
Sure, they are uncomfortable, especially in hot weather, Konecki added.
“It’s a sacrifice we need to make to keep the community safe as a whole,” she said.
Konecki reported that Ohio has seen 805 new cases in the last 24 hours – with 77 hospitalized, 19 in ICUs, and 16 deaths.
Spikes in cases have been identified in a federal prison in Columbiana County and among employees at Kings Island, she said.
