COVID-19 outbreaks reported in Mason LTC facilities... Latest case data in Gallia, Mason, Meigs

May 4—OHIO VALLEY — Active nursing home outbreaks were reported at long-term care facilities in Mason County.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reported three additional COVID-19 cases in Mason County and active outbreaks at both long-term care facilities in the county.

DHHR is reporting active outbreaks at both Lakin Hospital and Pleasant Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. There are zero active cases of COVID-19 listed for Lakin Hospital and currently six active residents and one active staff listed for Pleasant Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

As explained by the DHHR, "one laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases within 14 days of each other in a nursing home is defined as an outbreak. Outbreaks will remain active until one incubation period (14 days) has passed without the identification of additional cases of COVID-19."

On Monday evening, Brandon Totten, community relations manager for the company that owns Pleasant Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, said there are currently 12 patients and two employees who have recently tested positive for COVID-19. Totten said 92 percent of the patients have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

"When we identified our first COVID-19 positive patients, we moved those patients and began caring for them in negative air flow isolation areas," Totten said. "We continue to test all patients and employees to identify and isolate possible cases of the virus. In addition to caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in isolated areas, we are using the most aggressive treatment authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and we have seen improved outcomes to date. Employees quarantine at home while recovering."

No new cases among residents or staff were reported at long-term care facilities in Gallia or Meigs Counties in the most recent update from the Ohio Department of Health on April 28.

Here is a closer look at COVID-19 cases in the region:

Gallia County

ODH reported a total of 2,351 cases of COVID-19 (since March 2020) in Gallia County as part of Tuesday's update, the same as on Monday.

ODH has reported a total of 48 deaths, 145 hospitalizations, and 2,257 presumed recovered individuals (two new) as of Tuesday.

Age ranges for the 2,351 total cases reported by ODH on Tuesday are as follows:

0-19 — 301 cases (2 hospitalizations)

20-29 — 385 cases (6 hospitalizations)

30-39 — 315 cases (3 hospitalizations)

40-49 — 336 cases (8 hospitalizations, 1 death)

50-59 — 352 cases (15 hospitalizations, 3 deaths)

60-69 — 299 cases (30 hospitalizations, 8 deaths)

70-79 — 205 cases (41 hospitalizations, 12 deaths)

80-plus — 158 cases (40 hospitalizations, 24 deaths)

Gallia County is currently "yellow" on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System map after meeting one of the seven indicators.

Meigs County

The Meigs County Health Department reported 14 active cases and 1,492 total cases (1,335 confirmed, 157 probable) since April 2020, as part of Monday's update.

There have been a total of 39 deaths, 1,442 recovered cases, and 84 hospitalizations since April 2020.

Age ranges for the 1,492 Meigs County cases, as of Monday, were as follows:

0-9 — 56 cases

10-19 — 140 cases (1 hospitalization)

20-29 — 215 cases (1 hospitalization)

30-39 — 183 cases (3 hospitalizations)

40-49 — 216 cases (6 hospitalizations)

50-59 — 222 cases (8 hospitalizations)

60-69 — 211 cases (22 hospitalizations, 6 deaths)

70-79 — 156 cases (26 hospitalizations, 14 deaths)

80-89 — 65 cases (11 hospitalizations, 16 deaths)

90-99 — 29 cases (6 hospitalizations, 3 deaths)

100-109 — 2 cases (1 hospitalization)

To date, the Meigs County Health Department has administered 2,290 first doses of COVID-19 vaccinations and 1,961 second doses for a total of 4,251 vaccinations. Of the vaccines given by the health department, 2,389 were Moderna, 1,768 were Pfizer, and 94 were Johnson & Johnson. This does not include vaccinations by other agencies or pharmacies.

Free COVID-19 vaccinations are available by appointment Monday through Friday at the Meigs County Health Department. Appointment and vaccine availability can be made at www.meigs-health.com or for those who do not have internet access may contact the health department for assistance at 740-992-6626.

For more data and information on the cases in Meigs County visit https://www.meigs-health.com/covid-19/ .

Meigs County is "orange" on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System after meeting two of the seven indicators.

Mason County

DHHR reported 1,987 total cases (since March 2020) for Mason County in the 10 a.m. update on Tuesday, three more than Monday. Of those, 1,935 are confirmed cases and 52 are probable cases. DHHR has reported 36 deaths in Mason County.

Case numbers per age group reported by DHHR are as follows:

0-9 — 44 cases (plus 3 probable cases)

10-19 — 186 cases (plus 3 probable cases)

20-29 — 336 cases (plus 10 probable cases)

30-39 — 320 cases (plus 10 probable cases, 1 new case)

40-49 — 280 cases (plus 11 probable cases, 1 new case)

50-59 — 284 cases (plus 3 probable cases, 2 deaths)

60-69 — 254 cases (plus 5 probable cases, 7 deaths)

70-plus — 231 cases (plus 7 probable cases, 37 deaths, 1 new case)

On Tuesday, Mason County was designated as "green" on the West Virginia County Alert System map. Mason County's latest infection rate was 7.00 on Monday with a 1.22 percent positivity rate. Surrounding counties are green and orange.

Ohio

ODH reported a 24-hour change of 1,285 new cases on Tuesday (21-day average of 1,598), bringing Ohio's overall case count since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,077,284 cases. There were 204 new hospitalizations (21-day average of 120) and 20 new ICU admissions (21-day average of 14). On Tuesday, 60 deaths were reported (since Friday), with a 21-day average of 20 deaths. As announced earlier this year, ODH will only be reporting deaths approximately twice per week, those updates have typically been made on Tuesday and Friday.

Ohio's cases per 100,000 population for the past two weeks fell to 155.6 on Thursday. This number is updated each Thursday.

As of Tuesday, a total of 4,737,400 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Ohio, which is 40.53 percent of the population. A total of 3,892,823 people, 33.30 percent of the population, are fully vaccinated. Scheduling a vaccine in Ohio can be completed on the website gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov or for assistance in scheduling call 833-4-ASK-ODH (833-427-5634).

West Virginia

As of the 10 a.m. update on Tuesday, DHHR is reporting a total of 154,551 cases with 2,695 deaths. There was an increase of 344 cases from Monday and nine new deaths. The daily positivity rate in the state was 4.97 percent. There are 7,140 currently active cases in the state.

DHHR recently reported 789,451 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to residents of West Virginia. So far, 649,834 people have been fully vaccinated. Gov. Justice urges all residents to pre-register for a vaccine appointment on vaccine.wv.gov.

Sarah Hawley and Kayla (Hawthorne) Dunham contributed to this story.

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