Covid numbers take a big drop

Jan. 13—NORWALK — Good news on the COVID-19 front in Huron County.

The latest report from Jan. 6 to 12 has recorded a case count of 38 cases — a decrease from 64 cases the previous reporting period.

The average age of cases for this reporting period decreased from 62 to 50, with the highest number of cases for this week in the 21 to -30, 51 to 60 and 61 to 70 age ranges with six new cases reported in each respective age group. Six Zip Codes in Huron County reported cases this week, with the highest infection rate in the Bellevue area (44811) Zip Code.

While COVID-19 remains present in this community, the U.S. continues to experience other respiratory viruses, like flu and RSV. Huron County Public Health (HCPH) encourages residents to take preventative actions that can help protect yourself and your family from all respiratory viruses, such as:

—Avoid close contact with sick people, and stay home if you are sick to protect others.

—Wash your hands often, using soap and water, for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

—Cover your coughs and sneezes.

—Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.

—Frequently clean and disinfect surfaces (especially high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs and mobile devices).

—Vaccines are available for COVID-19 and the flu. If you haven't already, it's not too late to get vaccinated/boosted.

Important Notes About This Report

COVID-19 case counts included in this report are estimates for the reporting period based on reports generated from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH)'s Ohio Disease Reporting System (ODRS). These data may be impacted by several factors, including but not limited to:

—Lack of reporting individual cases (for example, if a self-administered at-home test kit results positive but individual case information is not reported to HCPH or recorded in the ODRS, this case will not be counted by ODH or included in this report); and

—Reporting delays with the electronic reporting of cases, especially during surge periods.

For continued updates, HCPH reminds residents to continue to use reputable sources for information about COVID-19, including www.huroncohealth.com, www.coronavirus.ohio.gov and www.cdc.gov. Statewide COVID-19 case data can be found on the Ohio Department of Health's COVID-19 Dashboard at: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/dashboards.

More information about flu can be found by visiting:https://www.cdc.gov/flu/

More information about RSV can be found by visiting: https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/

COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring Network

Wastewater monitoring for COVID-19 is a real-time, leading indicator that provides trend information regarding what is occurring in a community. Wastewater monitoring data, along with the number of positive individuals that have been tested at medical facilities and hospitalization information, are data sources that can be used to help inform local communities about the level of COVID-19 in their communities.

Information about the COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring Program can be found at https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/dashboards/other-resources/wastewater.