Scioto County, Ohio EMA Director Larry Mullins said the county is back to Level 3 Red Status on the ODH Public Health Advisory system. This is the second time the county has been at level 3.
After two weeks at red status back in July, we moved to orange on July 30. During the past two weeks, COVID cases in the county climbed by 93 to 508. The county’s COVID death total stands at 8.
Alert Levels
Ohio’s Health Alert Levels are as follows:
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- 1 Yellow – Active Exposure and Spread
- 2 Orange – Increased exposure and spread
- 3 Red – Very high exposure and spread
- 4 – Purple – Severe exposure and spread
The indicators used to determine the ranking are:
- Number of new cases based on the population of the county
- A sustained increase in cases
- Cases not coming from high-risk settings like nursing homes or jails
- Increase in ER visits for COVID symptoms
- Sustained Increase in Outpatient visits for COVID symptoms
- Increase in new COVID hospital admissions
- ICU occupancy rate goes above 80% for three days
Level Three (Red) means a county has met four or five of the seven indicators of the ODH Public Health Advisory System and there is very high exposure and spread of COVID19 in the county. Mullins encouraged county residents to wear masks, wash their hands frequently, maintain social distancing, and to limit activities.
King’s Daughters At Capacity
King’s Daughters Hospital CEO Kristie Whitlatch issued a dire warning about COVID last week. She said her hospital was at capacity.
While COVID is generally thought to be hit those with underlying health issues and nursing home residents the hardest, she said that’s no longer the case.”It is attacking babies, children, and healthy, active men and women who have no idea how they were exposed.”
Whitlach said that unlike the flu, it can take an incredibly long time to get over COVID-19. “We are also seeing difficult recoveries, many taking months to fully recover and some who have yet to fully recover and may see the impact for the rest of their lives.” Infectious disease experts and other medical personnel are said to be “very concerned” about the spread of COVID in the tri-state area.
Echoing a sentiment often repeated by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Whitlach said, “Not in some big city but our hometowns. At King’s Daughters, our numbers and trend lines are continuing to surge upward. We have had 22 COVID related deaths to date and over 120 new positive cases just this week.”
Of greatest concern, Whitlach said King’s Daughters is at capacity. “We are working to open a third nursing unit to care for COVID patients. Multiple nursing units dedicated to one virus are unprecedented in our 120-year history. Many of these patients are very ill and many of our physicians, nurses, and support team have been struck by the virus. I understand people have differing opinions, but we know for a fact it is dangerous and deadly because we live it every day. We must take this seriously.”
