The Ashland County Health Department (ACHD) provides that as of today the COVID-19 local data for Ashland County is such: 166 positive cases, of which 161 are confirmed and 5 are probable. Of these cases, only 3 are active, 158 recovered and there are 5 deaths. At this time, there is one hospitalization of an Ashland County resident in a hospital outside of the county. This individual is being monitored by the health department to ensure that they have access to needed care throughout the stages of their illness. We are monitoring 85 individuals due to their exposure to the virus; many of which are associated with the statewide National Guard testing of long-term care facilities. For the active cases, 2 individuals are experiencing mild symptoms and 1 has severe symptoms (the hospitalization). Please be mindful that ACHD is releasing the most accurate and up to date information. The Ohio Department of Health may often have a data lag as they have to report for all counties. ACHD provides the data to the state that ODH eventually releases.
“It is great to see the number of cases decreasing in Ashland County and to see that we remain code yellow as assigned by the state. There were a few weeks when the health department was seeing double digits of positive cases. To now see that we once again have small numbers provides reassurance that our public health work is making a difference”, stated Health Commissioner, Heather Reffett. “Also, I speak on behalf of the entire health department, when I express gratitude to our county residents, leadership and local businesses. It is also important to acknowledge that our local schools and university have worked tirelessly to prepare for reopening. Thank you to each school administrator and school nurse that we have worked with in recent times. Our school nurses are really critical to the continued good health of our community. Let’s all remember to show them our appreciation”.
This week, the week of August 24th, the health department would like to recognize its second “Business Hero of the Week”. The distinction is given to Buehler’s Fresh Foods in Ashland. While ACHD conducts routine inspections of food establishments and many county grocers and eateries are excelling at implementing COVID-19 precautions, ACHD team members had a very noteworthy experience working with Buehler’s. Marty Stys, the Buehler’s manager, shared that, “We take the safety of our customers and employees seriously. That is why we are taking the following steps: sanitation of all incoming and outgoing carts, frequent in store sanitation, customer restrooms checked and sanitized hourly, plexiglass barriers at all registers, promoting online shopping, social distancing and all employees wearing masks.”
ACHD notes that Buehler’s even set aside 6 am – 8 am on Mondays and Wednesdays as select shopping hours for our older adult community members and those with health conditions that make them high risk for experiencing a severe reaction if infected with COVID-19. When asked, Mr. Stys wanted to provide special recognition to Sabrina Miller and Buehler’s entire online shopping team and shared that Sabrina and her team work tirelessly to keep everyone safe and to keep up with the high demand for online shopping services.
Additional information about COVID-19 is available at the ODH website, www.coronavirus.ohio.gov. ODH also staffs a Call Center 7 days a week from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. The number is 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).