Cases reported at long-term care facilities, also following social gatherings
Logan County Health Commissioner Dr. Boyd Hoddinott and Logan County Health District Nursing Director Kelly Reaver provided a detailed look during the Wednesday afternoon board of health meeting at the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the county, including the 79 cases that were reported over the weekend.
For the seven to eight staff members working on contract tracing at the Logan County Health District and the hours involved with each individual case, it is difficult or nearly impossible to perform all of those contact tracing duties with all of the new cases, the nursing director said. In some situations, individuals with a positive test result will receive a letter to pass along to their close contacts.
“The cases came in so rapidly over the weekend, and for some of the positive cases, we were only able to be in touch with their household contacts,” Reaver said. “For each case, it can take hours to call all of their contacts, so we cannot fully contact trace like we used to.
“We have been issuing letters to people who have positive cases so that they can give to the individuals that they have been in contact with that include instructions for quarantine.”
Dr. Hoddinott also reported that there have been two recent COVID-19 deaths in the county, bringing the total deaths since the pandemic began to six, as of Wednesday.
Among the recent surge in cases, the health commissioner said two long-term care facilities in Logan County — Logan Acres Senior Community and Belle Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center — also have recently been affected by cases of the virus, which have included resident and staff cases.
Out of the 217 cases reported as of Tuesday, 48 cases involved individuals at the two long-term care facilities, while 169 of the cases were unrelated, Dr. Hoddinott said.
Later Wednesday afternoon following the meeting, the health district also released its most recent COVID-19 numbers, reporting 276 active cases, an increase of 49 confirmed cases and 11 probable cases since the previous day. There also are currently 12 individuals hospitalized.
Despite all of the difficult news revolving around the local increase in cases, Dr. Hoddinott said fortunately, the schools in the county have been faring well and their efforts to improve air quality and circulation and other safety measures have been paying off.
The health commissioner said about 40 percent of the new cases have involved individuals who contracted the virus after reportedly attending a social gathering, from family get-togethers, barbecues or funerals, where individuals oftentimes were not wearing masks in the casual settings.