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Uptick In County COVID-19 Cases Partly Due To Event At Winery


 

 

Rachel Kinsman, public information officer for the Fulton County Health Department, said Tuesday there has been an uptick in cases of COVID-19 in Fulton County.

Many, but not all, of those 17 new cases can be attributed to an event at the Leisure Time Winery, rural Napoleon.

In a statement released last week, Henry County Health Department officials said, “through contact tracing investigations, the Henry County Health Department has identified several confirmed cases linked to the ‘Name That Tune’ event… on (Saturday) July 11, between 6 pm and 10 pm.

“The health department is requesting those who attended the event to… call their local health department.”

“Every guest in attendance longer than 15 minutes should self-quarantine through (Saturday) July 25 and seek a COVID test if you have any symptoms.”

Winery officials said on their Facebook page the facility will be closed “until a tentative date of July 31.”

Winery officials also said a disinfecting firm came out “to disinfect the entire facility.”

Numbers

Based on information from the state coronavirus.ohio. gov website, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Fulton County increased by about 42% from July 1-20.

On July 1, a Wednesday, the website reported Fulton County had 64 cases.

Just 20 days later, yesterday, Tuesday, July 21, there were 96 cases in Fulton County, an increase of 32, or 50%.

Between July 13-21, the number of COVID-19 cases increased by 17, from 79 to 96 (21.5%).

Henry County cases increased by almost 135% between July 1-21, from 31 to 73 cases, an increase of 42.

Between July 13-20, the number of Henry County cases increased from 45 to 73, an increase of about 62%.

FCHC

In the past, persons suffering with COVID-19, the illness caused by the Coronavirus, were sent to the Bay Park Hospital in Oregon.

Steve McCoy, Director of Marketing and Planning at Fulton County Health Center, said Bay Park is no longer the exclusive hospital for COVID-19 patients.

He said FCHC has been caring for one or two COVID- 19 patients at any one time.

However, he said the fourth floor is being remodeled to convert all rooms to “negative pressure” rooms.

In a negative pressure room, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system exhausts all air outside the room, bringing in fresh air from outside. This prevents virus particles from spreading to other rooms.

There are presently a few negative pressure rooms on the floor.

Initially, COVID-19 patients were sent to Bay Park from Fulton County because, while there were negativepressure rooms, FCHC did not have a full-time pulmonologist (lung specialist).

What does the uptick in cases mean for Fulton County?

Kinsman said, “For us, it’s just encouraging people to limit their interactions to small groups, not large ones.

“Keep your tribe small. Keep your circle as small as you can.

“I think seeing what happened at the Leisure Time should open people’s eyes to know that (COVID-19) is here.

“We just want to remind them– small groups, washing your hands, staying home if you’re sick is a big one, wearing a mask, and then practicing that social distancing, staying six feet apart.”–David Pugh