All Crestwood Ridge Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation residents and staff members have recovered from COVID-19, Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner reported Friday.
Overall, the number of active cases in local nursing homes has declined in the last week, according to Warner.
The following are the current COVID-19 statistics for local nursing homes as of Friday:
* Heartland of Hillsboro had 51 active COVID-19 cases involving residents. Warner did not report any staff cases.
* The Laurels of Hillsboro had 30 active cases involving residents. Warner did not report any staff cases.
Warner also reported six new COVID-19-related deaths this week. As of Friday, a total of 18 Highland County residents have died in connection to COVID-19.
“When a death is attributed to COVID-19, it means that, without COVID-19 being present in the chain of events, that death wouldn’t have happened when and how it did,” Warner wrote in a post to the health department’s Facebook page. “A good analogy is a drunk driver car crash. The cause of death might be blunt force trauma, but excessive speed and alcohol consumption each played a necessary part in the chain of events that led to the death. If COVID-19 is listed as a factor on the death certificate, then it counts for us as a COVID-19-related death.”
Warner did not release additional information on the recent deaths as of press time.
As of Thursday, Highland County remained a “red” county with high case incidence, according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS).
“Red” counties, which OPHAS also classifies as level 3 public emergencies, have “very high” COVID-19 exposure and spread.
According to OPHAS, Highland County has had 177 new COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks.
On Wednesday, Warner stated that Highland County must drop below 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in order to be downgraded from red status.
According to OPHAS, 56 out of 88 Ohio counties are currently “red” counties — an increase from 43 counties last week — and all 88 counties in Ohio have high case incidences as defined by the CDC as of Thursday.
Only two Ohio counties remain “yellow” level 1 counties, or the lowest rating, according to OPHAS.
As of Thursday, 86 percent of Ohioans live in a “red” county, according to a Thursday news release from the office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
In Southwestern Ohio, COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to increase, Warner reported Friday.
“Our hospital systems are showing overall capacity at roughly 90 percent. This is one of the most important trends that we watch as a health department, especially as we head into influenza and pneumonia season,” Warner wrote in a Friday post to the health department’s Facebook page. “I have not heard about any influenza increases in the region yet, and CDC still shows the US with minimal influenza activity so far this season. One of the things public health is watching for is what kind of flu season we will have, and if flu and COVID-19 hospitalizations will combine to cause additional strain to the healthcare system.”
According to DeWine, the record number of new cases is not due to increased testing in the state. Since Sept. 24, the total number of Ohioans tested increased by approximately 44 percent yet positive cases have increased by 280 percent in the same time period.
Health officials continue to urge Ohioans to maintain social distancing, wear face coverings and practice regular hand-washing and sanitizing.
The following are Highland County’s overall COVID-19 statistics as of Friday:
Highland County has had a total of 732 lab-confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, according to the Highland County Health Department.
The health department reported that there were 187 actively sick patients and seven COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and the health department is monitoring 504 Highland County residents for symptoms.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak reached Highland County, there have been a total of 49 COVID-19-related hospitalizations and 18 COVID-19-related deaths, and 527 patients have recovered from COVID-19.
According to Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which reported 669 cases in the county as of Friday, of the cases in Highland County:
* 118 cases involved 60- to 69-year-olds. Of these cases, nine resulted in hospitalization, and two resulted in death.
* 104 cases involved 50- to 59-year-olds. Of these cases, seven resulted in hospitalization.
* 94 cases involved 70- to 79-year-olds. Of these cases, 16 resulted in hospitalization, and three resulted in death.
* 86 cases involved 40- to 49-year-olds. Of these cases, five resulted in hospitalization.
* 77 cases involved 20- to 29-year-olds. Of these cases, one resulted in hospitalization.
* 70 cases involved 0- to 19-year-olds. Of these cases, one resulted in hospitalization.
* 59 cases involved someone 80 years old or older. Of these cases, nine resulted in hospitalization, and nine resulted in death.
* 59 cases involved 30- to 39-year-olds. Of these cases, one resulted in hospitalization.
* Two cases involved patients of an unknown age.
Warner previously stated that there is a delay in the reporting process between individual counties and the ODH.
Reach McKenzie Caldwell at 937-402-2570.
