COVID-19 disease activity in Union County remains at an elevated level – with multiple metrics pointing to significant, sustained disease transmission within our community.

The weekly number of new cases of COVID-19 in Union County, Ohio remains at some of the highest levels we’ve seen since the pandemic began with 90 new cases (by report date) reported during the previous six days (from Oct. 28 to Nov. 03). In total, we recorded more than 225 new cases in the month of October (by report date).  Today, we are reporting our highest number of actively ill individuals at a given point in time (143). Additionally, we recorded 9 new hospitalizations during October – the most hospitalizations within a month so far. Thus far, the vast majority of cases and hospitalizations are not among residents of a long-term care facility and cases among women incarcerated at the state prison in Marysville are not included in our locally reported community data – this means that most of our disease transmission and hospitalizations are occurring among individuals within our community at large.

A trend we are seeing through our local contact tracing efforts is that many individuals who are developing COVID-19 are doing so after informal gatherings of any size – things like family get togethers, birthday parties, small groups of friends gathering. We are also seeing the virus often spread through homes once one family member contracts the virus. While we do see cases within worksites, we are not typically seeing the virus spread easily and quickly throughout the workplace where social distancing and mask requirements are being followed in most instances. Additionally, we are not seeing significant spread within retail or service businesses where interactions tend to be short, often with social distancing and masking in place.

We ask all residents to continue to be aware of the elevated risk for disease transmission within our community. Please use extra caution if you or a loved one is at high risk for complications from a COVID-19 infection. If you are feeling ill, it is imperative you stay home. If you believe you were exposed to COVID-19, please stay home while you await test results or seek guidance from your healthcare provider. If you do test positive or are told by a healthcare provider that you have or likely have COVID-19, please stay home. If you are quarantining because of possible exposure or isolating due to a COVID-19 infection, please take steps from others who live with you, wear a mask even at home when with to protect others in your household.

When to Quarantine
What to Do If you Are Sick
Isolate If You Are Sick
When Can You Be Around Others

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