Cases are “unfortunately not coming down,” said Medina County Health Unit Director Pat Mechler, as the county reported 75 more Covid cases this Monday, anticipating that the number of people affected will only continue to climb from holiday gatherings. The number of people affected in Medina County has doubled in the past 2 1/2 months alone, from 1,202 cases on October 14th to 2,407 cases on January 4th.
The first local Covid case was reported on March 17th, 2020.
Since December 1st, 2020, over 688 people reported a positive Covid test to Medina County. Over 300 of the new cases were reported since December 18th. More than 75 of the new cases were reported since New Year’s Eve.
Understanding the numbers…Cases are reported many days after testing occurred in many cases, so by the time the numbers hit the charts, they are halfway through the “14 day recovery” mark. Those recovered cases are subtracted from the newly reported active cases and so that can make the charts and county/state reporting a little confusing to read.
“A major issue is thinking it is safe to be around coworkers or friends without a mask because they don’t look sick. This is when pre-symptomatic transmission occurs and spreads without us being aware. Wearing a mask is your best defense. Also, stay home when you are sick and stay away from others. Taking responsibility for yourself protects others and our families.”
“Please continue to push the message of wearing a mask, avoiding large crowds, social distancing, hand washing and sanitizing.”
ISOLATION and QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATIONS:
“If you have COVID-19, stay home and isolate yourself for 10 days past your symptom onset. Notify those around you that you have been in close contact with so they can quarantine if needed,” Mechler said. “A close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes. That time could be less if that person is actively coughing or sick. If you are a close contact, stay home for 10-14 days and monitor for symptoms. If you need to return to work sooner, you can test on day 5 after last exposure and continue to quarantine through day 7 and then if no symptoms occur, you can return to work or be off quarantine.”
“A 14 day quarantine is still best and with any option to decrease quarantine as above, you should still monitor for symptoms for 14 days, wear a mask and follow public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. If anyone has questions related to isolation or quarantine please call the health unit or your doctor or visit the CDC coronavirus website.”