'Really concerning': COVID-19 on the rise again in Hancock County

Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to go up, Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi reported at the Hancock County Board of Health meeting Friday morning. "This is really concerning," Baroudi said. He said the increase may stem from a combination of people not wearing masks or thinking that the pandemic is behind us. There are 446 active cases of COVID-19 among Hancock County residents, a 33.5% increase from last week. The active cases range in age from 7 weeks to 98 years old. And 109 of them, or 24.4%, are fully vaccinated. A total of 23 Hancock County residents are now in the hospital with COVID-19, including 18 at Blanchard Valley Hospital, four at Ohio State University and one at St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima. The incidence of the virus is 430.18 cases per 100,000 people, an increase of 13.19 points in the past week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines high incidence of the virus as 100 cases or more per 100,000 people in a two-week period. By comparison, the nationwide average is 186.6 cases per 100,000 people, said Dr. Nathaniel Ratnasamy, the health department's medical director. In an email to community leaders Friday, Baroudi noted the number of new cases increased for the third consecutive week. "The seven-day average graphic representation clearly show an increasing slope after a two-week slowdown late October," he wrote. "Please note that all of our metrics, including our hospitals' new admissions and deaths, increased in the last seven days." And 13.65% of COVID-19 tests in Hancock County are coming back positive, an increase of 2.41% in the past seven days. Three COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the past seven days. In addition, there are six other deaths that are not confirmed, pending a coroner's report. In information updated Friday morning, Hancock Public Health reported 347 new cases of the virus in the past week and 22 new hospitalizations. The average number of new cases per day in the past week is 49.6, the health department reported. On Thursday, Baroudi said, the county added 78 cases — the highest number since last fall's surge. Since the pandemic began, the health department has recorded 10,748 cases of the virus in county residents. In that time, 753 county residents have been hospitalized and 165 have died of COVID-19. In an interview after Friday's meeting, Baroudi said people may be feeling like they are ready to be done with the pandemic, and thus are "being complacent." He said it's important to realize the virus is still here, still spreading and still putting people in the hospital. "We have the tools now" to address it, such as vaccines, he said. Doing the right thing — wearing masks and getting vaccinated — is "how we get out of this," he said. Baroudi, in his email to community leaders, encouraged Thanksgiving safety tips such as: getting vaccinated; choosing outdoor spaces when possible; taking precautions indoors; staying home if you are feeling sick; and remembering that the probability of encountering someone with the disease or contracting the virus is still high. "If you are hosting a holiday gathering at home, it may be helpful to communicate with your guests in advance about your COVID-19 ground rules and the precautions you are taking," he wrote. A total of 49.6% of Hancock County residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Baroudi said. During the pandemic, the health department has recorded nine deaths and 37 hospitalizations among "breakthrough" cases — that is, people who died or were hospitalized after being vaccinated. This means 95% of hospitalizations and 95% of deaths among Hancock County residents have been people who were not fully vaccinated. Ratnasamy said at the meeting that northwest Ohio as a region — like neighboring Michigan — is currently seeing a high incidence of cases. And Ratnasamy said new medications from Pfizer and Merck have been shown helpful in smaller studies at treating the virus. The Pfizer pill is expected to receive Food and Drug Administration approval fairly soon. Arthurs: 419-427-8494