Hancock County's virus numbers continue to climb

Hancock Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi, at Friday's Hancock Public Health Board of Health meeting, said he wakes up every day hoping the county's COVID-19 numbers have gone down. But they keep going up. Hancock County's seven-day average is close to the levels seen in October and November of last year, he said. In information updated Friday afternoon, Hancock Public Health reported 342 new virus cases and 25 new hospitalizations this week. One more county resident has died of COVID-19. The average number of new cases per day is 48. The incidence rate of the virus is 424.9 cases per 100,000 people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines high incidence as 100 cases or more per 100,000 people in a two-week period. And the current figure is a 35% increase from seven days ago, Baroudi noted. Changing minds Dr. Nathaniel Ratnasamy, medical director for Hancock Public Health and an infectious disease physician at Blanchard Valley Hospital, said there were 32 people hospitalized with COVID-19 there Thursday, including 13 in critical care beds. One of those 13 individuals was vaccinated, he said. Ratnasamy said hospitals throughout the region are stretched, noting that Blanchard Valley Hospital recently was asked to admit a non-COVID patient from Lima who couldn't find a bed there. Baroudi said he and Ratnasamy attended a state event earlier this week that looked at the fatigue and trauma the public health workforce is facing. Baroudi noted that usually with an emergency, health officials would respond to it and then recover, but this has been a long-term situation. He and Ratnasamy — describing public health and hospital staff, respectively — both used the word "tired." But health department staff also described a feeling of making a difference. Baroudi said he, Ratnasamy and public health nurses went to an event outside Van Buren recently and were able to change one person's mind on the vaccine. He said he knows that person will talk to others. Similarly, the health department having a presence at the Hancock County Fair may have helped change some people's minds. (Baroudi said there is "no indication" that the fair itself led to significant COVID-19 spread.) "Every time we talk to a person, it's a win," he said. Director of Community Health Services Shannon Chamberlin said that, just as Mothers Against Drunk Driving helped raise awareness of that issue, personal vaccination stories may be what makes the difference in people's awareness. Chamberlin said health department staff gave out about 88 doses of COVID-19 vaccine at a back-to-school vaccination clinic held Thursday. And, she said, staff are seeing more people come in to get vaccinated who previously had been hesitant. She said they also continue to get requests from businesses and agencies to have on-site vaccination clinics and, at one held recently, they did change a couple of people's minds. Current cases Currently, 12.36% of local COVID-19 tests are coming back positive, the health department reports. There are 411 active cases, ranging in age from 4 to 92 years old, Baroudi said. Of these 411 people, 78 are vaccinated and 335 are unvaccinated. Baroudi said 15.65% of September's cases so far are "breakthrough," meaning people who got the virus despite being vaccinated. This is down from 29.67% in August. The decrease is likely attributed to the fact that more people are encouraged to wear masks even if they have been vaccinated, which reduces the risk of getting infected, he said. The active cases include 73 school-age children age 5-18, making up 17.7% of the county's cases, he said. Baroudi said 32% of the county's 12- to 17-year-olds have started the vaccination process. Twenty-seven county residents are currently hospitalized, including 24 at Blanchard Valley Hospital, two at Ohio State University and one in Cleveland, Baroudi said. And he said there have been two recent deaths. These are not included in the official report, however, as the health department must wait until the coroner makes a final determination of the cause of death. Arthurs: 419-427-8494