Scioto County Commissioner Mike Crabtree had problems with the way COVID-19 cases are counted. He’s worried that the numbers just don’t add up. At Thursday’s Scioto County Commissioners meeting, Both Crabtree and Commissioner Bryan Davis expressed concerns that citizens weren’t getting accurate numbers.
I Don’t Know If They’re Accurate
Commissioner Crabtree worried that numbers might be exaggerated. “From what we’re hearing, the numbers of cases and the numbers of actual positive cases, in some of the information that we’re hearing on different news media indicates that there’s a lot of inaccuracies in those particular positive cases and the deaths.”
The Commissioner said he didn’t know what the numbers should actually be. “I don’t know if they’re accurate or not. I think there’s a lot of questions that people have nationwide as to how accurate those numbers can be and if some of those numbers are being exaggerated for the benefit the hospitals or the health department.”
Scioto County EMA reported 11 additional COVID-19 cases today, bringing the total to 218. Cases increased by more than 100 in the past two weeks.
Crabtree said he fears it will be impossible to get an accurate count, “It would be nice to know that. WE may never know that. There’s still a lot of information out there, a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of complaints about the fact that people either don’t think the numbers are correct or they’re not consistent from one state to another. Are we gonna get accurate numbers? Maybe in the final tally. I don’t know.”
Double Counted?
Commissioner Bryan Davis said he saw a report on the Laura Ingram Show about cases being reported more than once in Ohio. “You go to the hospital, you are tested positive, you have to be tested negative before you can return to work or be declared COVID-free. You could be tested multiple times.”
Davis expressed concern that individuals are counted more than once because they are tested more than once. “Each test counts as a new case. And that is severely skewing the numbers. Is that happening locally, we don’t know. Because they are not reporting that. I agree with Commissioner Crabtree, the Ohio Department of Health has to be more open about how many cases have been counted more than once.
Davis said he posed the question to the local EMA Director, Larry Mullins. “I was told that’s not happening here.”
Martin Says Double Count Not Likely
Scioto County Health Commissioner, Dr. Michael Martin, said that double-counting is unlikely anywhere in Ohio because of the way positive tests are recorded. Governor Mike DeWine also explained the process a few weeks ago during his daily COVID-19 conferences. Dr. Martin said, “What happens, once you get tested and it’s positive, those results come to the county health department. We put them in the state database. The results are put into the database under that person’s name. If that person gets tested again, it gets put in the state database under their name. It’s not counted twice.”
Scioto County EMA Director Larry Mullins said he thinks the concern about double-counting comes from the early days of the pandemic. When inmates in Ohio’s prisons were tested, the results were credited to both the county the prison was in and the inmate’s home county.”
Time For Transparency
Davis said it’s time for the state to be more open with the numbers. “We would ask that the Ohio Department of Health be more transparent. There are other states being more transparent than the Ohio Department of Health.”
Scioto EMA Director Larry Mullins agreed. “I agree we could probably be more forthcoming. But local governments are very worried about keeping privacy. That goes back to some of the first cases when word got out people got death threats and were berated on social media.”
Mullins said anyone with a question about COVID-19 should call the County or City Health Department. “I’m a firm believer that we have a free and open press. I think it’s important that we let everybody get an accurate picture of how the virus is here in this county.” He said people can then decide the best way to protect themselves.”
- The Portsmouth City Health Department is open 8:30 am – 4:30 pm M-F at 740-353-5153.
- The Scioto County Health Department is open 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – M-F at 740-355-8358. After hours call 740-354-8931.
Numbers Not Inflated
Both Dr. Martin and Director Mullins said they didn’t believe anyone inflated the numbers locally. Martin said, “There’s no concerted effort or any cabal that inflated these numbers for any reason. I’m surprised that the commissioners would comment on this. People are getting sick, people are dying.”
Mullins added this about local health department workers, “These folks are committed public servants and they’re doing everything they can. I don’t believe for one moment that they are inflating numbers.” He said he believed the commissioners were referring to other parts of the state and country.
Dr. Martin also said that hospitals are getting much better at treating COVID-19 but that shouldn’t make us complacent. “We cannot let the hospitals get overwhelmed. This is a deadly virus.” He said those who recover often are left with permanent damage.
“We must take this seriously, wear a mask, wash our hand, maintain a distance. We’ll be able to keep others from getting sick.”
