Coronavirus: More than 400 testing kits distributed at giveaway

Jun. 12—The Clark County Combined Health District distributed 430 COVID-19 test kits at its drive-through COVID-19 test kit giveaway at Springfield High School last week.

The giveaway was coordinated following a weekly rise in COVID-19 cases, with more than 100 new cases reported weekly for the past few weeks.

The end of Spring included a plethora of reasons for local families to celebrate: proms, commencements, and graduation parties, as well as a long Memorial Day weekend.

Some of the harbinger of summer events were followed by an uptick of cases locally, with a graduation party in Clark County resulting in several cases of the virus, health commissioner Charles Patterson said.

Patterson said that the giveaway was aimed at ensuring county residents have tests on hand as they enter into summertime.

"We want everyone to be happy and celebrate safely," Patterson said.

Community transmission of COVID-19 is on the rise, and positive detection of COVID-19 and reporting of positive cases is an effective way to mitigate spread of the virus, a health district press release said.

Last week, Clark County was at a "low" community level, down from its "medium" level the week before, per the Centers for Disease Control. The levels are calculated by a few factors, including hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that those living in a county with a low community level stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 series and get tested if they have symptoms.

Since the pandemic's start, more than 35,900 cases of the virus have been reported in Clark County, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The state recoded 18,247 cases and 549 hospitalizations in the last week, according to ODH. Both are an increase from the 17,530 cases and 482 hospitalizations reported the previous week.