UPDATE #2: Clinton County’s 5 cases range from ages 32 to 62; 2 in medical field self-quarantined early

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Clinton County now has five confirmed cases of coronavirus, county officials confirmed Wednesday, with their ages ranging from 32 to 62.

That is up from the total of three which had stood for several days.

One of the five patients is hospitalized.

“Those [five local] cases have all had exposures traced back either out of county, or even out of state,” Clinton County Health Commissioner Pamela Walker-Bauer said Wednesday afternoon.

Two of those cases are in the medical field.

“While it is our policy not to disclose identifying information for patients, these individuals are recovering at home [except for the one hospitalized person, announced later in the afternoon]. Clinton County Health District has assessed exposure risk to patients as minimal; these medical providers recognized symptoms early and self-quarantined to minimize risk to others,” the CCHD stated Wednesday.

“Clinton County Health District continues to work closely with the Ohio Department of Health to monitor this situation, and we continue to vigorously follow infection control protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Across the state, many frontline workers are being infected due to their contact with those who have the virus. Frontline medical personnel get priority for testing to minimize the risk to others. This is why more frontline medical personnel test positive. This is a prime example why the medical field is in desperate need of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and why it is being used sparingly.”

Those wishing to donate PPE equipment can drop off supplies to the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) office (located inside the Sheriff’s Office facility on Davids Drive, Wilmington), or they can drop off supplies to the Clinton County Health District located on South Nelson Avenue in the County Annex building across the street from the fairgrounds.

“We strongly encourage people to follow (ODH Director) Dr. Acton’s recommendations to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The health and safety of our community is our top priority.”

Statewide

In Ohio, the latest numbers show 2,547 confirmed cases in Ohio, with 222 ICU admissions in the state, 679 hospitalizations and 65 deaths.

At his daily briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Mike DeWine said he has deployed the Ohio National Guard (ONG) to Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati to start planning and assessing the structures needed for the anticipated surge in patients. He said the ONG will “continue to work to expand the capacity of hospitals. The possibilities for expansion: college dorm, convention center, closed hospital, unoccupied medical option, there may be other options as well.”

Regarding the shortage of personal protective equipment, he said, “We still have a real need to significantly increase PPE. I am very pleased to announce today the establishment of the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19. This is a collaborative public-private partnership.

“If you are a manufacturer, we need your help and we need your help now. If you think you can create any of the products we need, we have a new website — http://repurposingproject.com — this will tell you what we need.

“Please look at this to see if you can help us move forward. Some items: Swabs, ventilators, goggles, gowns, etc. Please go to the website, it is an extensive list. The money will be there — just let us know what you think you can do and how long it will take.”

DeWine also said, “We plan on utilizing freestanding emergency departments, urgent care centers, free-standing ambulatory surgery centers (not in use due to postponement of elective surgeries), and hospital multi-use healthcare facilities that house a lab service.”

For news and resource information and steps to take to help prevent the spread of the virus, please see the Clinton County website www.covidcc.com as well as the News Journal’s site at www.wnewsj.com .

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Ages 32 to 62; 2 self-quarantined early

By Tom Barr

& Gary Huffenberger

News Journal

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