Alarming increase reported in COVID-19 cases in Guernsey County – The Daily Jeffersonian

Local health officials are encouraging residents in Guernsey and surrounding counties to get vaccinated and follow safety precautions including wearing a mask to help stop a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.

Guernsey County health officials reported 118 new COVID-19 cases in the past week.

"There is no question COVID-19 cases are increasing in Guernsey and surrounding counties," said Southeastern Med President/CEO Wendy C. Elliott. "Over the last week, cases in Guernsey County have increased by 168%."

Elliott said the case rates are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker that also showed 20 new cases last week in Noble County.

"Subsequently, we are also seeing an increase in COVID-positive patients at the hospital," said Elliott. "It is unclear how many of these cases are due to the Delta Variant. What we do know for certain is vaccination continues to be the best weapon to prevent serious illness and hospitalization."

All three vaccinations, including the FDA-approved Pfizer, are available for free at local health departments and at area drugstores.

"We highly encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated to help stop the rise in cases in our community," said Elliott.

New coronavirus cases statewide for the week of Aug. 16-22 totaled 21,227 a 21.8.% increase.

Guernsey County Health Commissioner Dr. Edward Colby said he has seen a dramatic increase in positive results for COVID-19 in the county and his own private practice.

"We have definitely seen an increase in the number of cases recently," said Colby, who reported more than a dozen positive COVID-19 tests in his own office in the past couple weeks.

The Cambridge-Guernsey County Health Department recorded 200 new COVID cases from Aug. 1 through Monday morning. Colby said more new cases were reported Monday and Tuesday.

"We are also seeing fully-vaccinated people with positive tests," said Colby. "They are not getting as sick, but they are testing positive. Eight of the nine I tested recently had a positive result for coronavirus."

The Ohio Department of Health says 14,814 Guernsey County residents (38.11% of the county's population) have started the vaccination process and $13,826 (35.57%) have been fully vaccinated.

In Noble County, 5.217 residents (36.13%) have started receiving the coronavirus vaccinations including 4,850 (33.62%) who have completed the process.

Colby encourages area residents to get vaccinated to avoid the more serious symptoms of the coronavirus. He also believes the refusal by the majority of the community to wear a mask has contributed tothe rising COVID-19 cases.

"People are not wearing masks anymore," said Colby. "Anywhere you go, you don't see very many people, if any, wearing masks. I'm afraid we are going to be right back to square one."

Last week, Guernsey County only reported 44 new COVID cases.

Throughout the pandemic the Cambridge-Guernsey County Health Department has reported 3,549 cases and 54 deaths.Meanwhile, Noble County has reported 1,426 cases and 40 deaths.

Ohio ranked 35th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

Weekly case counts rose in 74 of the state's 88 counties. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Cuyahoga, Stark and Franklin counties. Cases fell in 13 Ohio counties.

A total of 1,180,986 people in Ohio have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,689 people have died from the disease.

The CDC recommends the following steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

Contact the health department, 740-439-3577, for more information regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.

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Alarming increase reported in COVID-19 cases in Guernsey County - The Daily Jeffersonian