Greene County Sees Surge In COVID-19 Cases In Recent Weeks
Greene County Public Health has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks due to clusters of cases at Harmony Center for Rehabilitation and Healing, located at 164 Office Park Drive in Xenia (18 residents/5 employees); Xenia Health and Rehab, located at 126 Wilson Drive in Xenia (16 residents/8 employees); and Heartland of Beavercreek, located at 1974 N. Fairfield Road in Beavercreek (7 residents/6 employees). A total of 41 residents and 19 employees have been affected.
According to the Communicable Disease team at Greene County Public Health, these cases began surfacing around August 25 and have contributed to increased case counts in recent weeks. Another contributing factor has been students from out-of-county universities who have been isolating here in Greene County, as well as some cases at our local universities. Since early August, Wright State University has reported 17 positive cases, 15 of which are students; Central State University has reported 6 positive students; and Cedarville University has reported 10 positive students.
Greene County currently has a cumulative total of 1,284 cases with 25 currently active, with 289 cases under ongoing surveillance. There are 15 individuals that are currently hospitalized. Sadly, there has been a total of 29 deaths to date. Only six of the deaths reported have been linked to long term care facilities.
GCPH officials want to remind residents that the pandemic is not over and to continue to follow the state and local guidelines for protecting our most vulnerable populations against this virus. All of Ohio is required to wear a mask when working in or visiting businesses and outdoors when social distancing is not possible. Wash your hands often and avoid large gatherings, if possible.
Contact tracing and self-quarantining of people with COVID-19 and close contacts is ongoing and is critical to help slow transmission of COVID-19 in our communities. Your actions make all of us safer. Greene County Public Health professionals are here to help slow the spread of COVID-19. If you receive a call regarding contact tracing, please help us by doing the following:
• Follow health department guidance.
• Notify your healthcare provider if you become ill and you have not been tested for COVID-19.
• If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should stay at home and selfquarantine for 14 days, starting from the most recent day that you were possibly exposed to COVID-19.
• Monitor yourself and maintain social distancing (at least 6 feet) from others at all times.
• Notify those who you had close contact with recently if you become ill.
• Know what symptoms mean you need to go to the hospital right away.
• Seek medical care if symptoms become severe. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent
pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.
As soon as a safe and effective vaccine becomes available, we will provide that information. We have been informed that it could be as early as the end of this year. You can visit the CDC’s site for COVID-19 at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html, or www.coronavirus.ohio.gov for Ohio’s details. You can always reach us by phone at 937-374-5600.
