COVID report “not a pretty sight”

Medina County–Covid cases have more than doubled since last week. There have been well over 100 cases reported in the past 10 days. Just in one week, the active case count from 48 last Tuesday to 116 this Tuesday morning, November 24. A death of a man in his 50’s was also reported last week (this death occurred in September), and this case is both a reminder of how serious this illness is, and also that we as a community, we will not always know the impact Covid is having until well after the fact.
Many of these cases are very new, with 65 reported on Monday and an additional 14 reported Tuesday.
“Everyone is tired of Covid I know, including me, but cases are rising and we all need to protect those around us, especially the vulnerable groups. As cases go up, so does the risk to those we are trying to protect most,” said Patricia Mechler, Medina County Health Unit Director.
“Wear your masks, keep the holiday gathering s small and within your household,” Mechler said. “If you are supposed to be quarantining or isolating, please follow those guidelines.”
Officials remind everyone how important it is to control the spread of Covid over the holidays as cases rise all across the area.
“We all want to be together with our loved ones during the holidays, but the last thing we want to do is go to gathering with all your loved ones if you are supposed to be quarantining or isolating due to a known Covid exposure.”
Today’s 116 active cases is nearing the highest number of active cases we have had in Medina County, which was 132 active on July 21, 2020.
What does “Recovered” really mean?
All Covid cases (regardless of condition) are moved into the Recovered Category after 14 days, unless a known death has occurred. Officials explained last week, that the word “recovered” on the reports is NOT representative of the numbers of people who have long-lasting complications of Covid-19. Furthermore, the number of Hospitalizations will be very delayed in reporting as the County often has to rely on family members to report that a loved one has been hospitalized.
“We have to use the word ‘recovered’ in our reports because that’s what the State uses, but it doesn’t mean that the person is actually recovered from the virus. It just means it’s been 14 days, and after that period of time the infection is not considered active. So after 14 days, an ‘active’ case always drops off and goes into the ‘recovered’ category, but that doesn’t mean the person is really recovered or that they don’t have any complications.”
“Those cases that are in the ‘Recovered’ category doesn’t mean those people are okay or that they don’t have any complications of COVID. I do believe that most people do recover, but some do not, and we aren’t following up with these people for weeks or months after to see how they are doing,” Mechler explains. “Covid seems to touch everyone differently.”
“We have had at least three people who ‘recovered,’ who sadly passed away from COVID complications. It’s happened at least 3 times that I know of,” Mechler explains.
We ourselves have interviewed many other locals who suffered for weeks on end, even months with serious ongoing COVID complications.