Highland County schools saw 12 new COVID-19 cases from Oct. 25-31, according to an Ohio Department of Health (ODH) system update on Tuesday that documents how each school in the county is faring with COVID-19 during the 2021-22 school year.
The last time The Times-Gazette reported on COVID-19 cases in county schools was from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 when the schools saw 15 new COVID-19 cases.
Following are the total number of COVID-19 cases each county school has had during the entirety of the pandemic as well as the number of new cases those schools had from Oct. 25-31:
* Bright Local had no new student or staff cases. It has had 23 total student cases and three total staff cases.
* Fairfield Local had one new student case, but no new staff cases. It has had 51 total student cases and 15 total staff cases.
* Greenfield Exempted Village had four new student cases, but no new staff cases. It has had 122 total student cases and 17 total staff cases.
* The Highland County Board of DD had no new student or staff cases, and has had no total student or staff cases so far this school year.
* The Hillsboro Christian Academy Preschool had no new student or staff cases. It has had two total student cases and three total staff cases.
* The Hillsboro Christian Academy Private School had no new student or staff cases. It has had two total student cases and three total staff cases.
* Hillsboro City had two new student cases and one new staff case. It has had 100 total student cases and 24 total staff cases.
* Lynchburg-Clay Local had two new student cases and two new staff cases. It has had 33 total student cases and five total staff cases.
* St. Mary Catholic Preschool had no new student or staff cases. It has had no total student or staff cases so far this school year.
* St. Mary Catholic Private School had no new student or staff cases. It has had three total student cases and one total staff case so far this school year.
* Stonewall Academy had no new student or staff cases. It has had no total student or staff cases so far this school year.
In other news, the Highland County Health Department announced a COVID-19 and flu vaccine clinic on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the health department from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The department said the clinic was available for walk-ins but people could also schedule appointments at https://hchdshotclinic.timetap.com. The health department also said people could receive the COVID-19 and flu vaccine during the same visit.
The health department said the clinics will have:
* Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson booster doses for people aged 18 years of age and up that meet the requirements for the third dose.
* First and second doses for all people ages 12 and up.
* First doses for pediatric patients from ages 5-11.
* Regular doses of the flu, high dose and flu blok (egg-free) while they are available.
Highland County is seeing 15 new COVID-19 cases each day, which is about 35 cases per 100,000 in population, according to The New York Times COVID Tracker on Tuesday.
Highland County has also continued its stay in the highest risk category in terms of community transmission, according to the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) COVID Data Tracker which was last updated on Saturday. There are four different levels of community transmission — Low, Moderate, Substantial and High. Highland County is currently in the “High” designation.
The CDC said the data for this tracker comes from two different indicators of categorization: the total number of new cases per 100,000 people within the last seven days; and the percentage of positive diagnostic and screening nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) during the last seven days.
In terms of vaccinations, Highland County is currently at 36.44 percent for starting their vaccines, according to the ODH COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard on Tuesday. The state average for “vaccine started” is 55.85 percent.
In terms of completed vaccines, the state average is 51.97 percent, whereas the Highland County average is 33.47 percent.
The dashboard said there have been 1,741 additional doses taken in the county on or after Aug. 12, for people that were already fully vaccinated
According to the dashboard on Tuesday, the 36.44 percent of the population in Highland County has started its vaccinations equals 15,728 people. The ODH considers started as “when an individual has received at least one valid dose of COVID-19 vaccine.”
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
