Hometown Media Group (https://hmgccity.com/tag/covid-19-coverage/)
Wayne County broke a local record for the number of COVID-19 cases last week, and health officials learned Tuesday morning about two local deaths over the Labor Day weekend that were related to the virus. The first death was a female in her 80s who died Sunday, Sept. 6, at Reid Health. The second death was on Monday, Sept. 7, for a woman in her 90s who had been a resident at a long-term care facility.
Western Wayne Schools has canceled Friday night’s Lincoln High School varsity football game against Union County after a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. Superintendent George Philhower shared a statement he sent to the district’s parents with Western Wayne News. He said WWS administration received information Friday that a staff member who was recently present at Lincoln Middle/High School tested positive for COVID-19. RECENT STORY:Likelihood of false negative on COVID test can as high as 40 percent, county health officer says
Upon hearing about the ill employee, school officials promptly contacted the Wayne County Health Department to seek guidance, Philhower said. WWS administrators have developed plans for the safe reopening of schools, which include guidelines for what to do if the district has a positive case.
Centerville-Abington Community School Corporation is closing all of its buildings Monday after some health concerns have been raised in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday afternoon, Superintendent Mike McCoy said that the school district learned Friday about two negative COVID-19 cases for students in Rose Hamilton Elementary School. Although McCoy said the tests were negative, the symptoms were specific enough to COVID-19 that the Wayne County Health Department directed school officials that they needed to treat the cases as positive cases. Because of the length of time that has passed between the possible exposure and the corporation receiving the advice to quarantine, contact tracing is going to be extremely difficult, McCoy said. McCoy said the school district was directed to contact anyone who might have come into contact with the students at recess, in the classroom, at lunch, and anywhere else they would have been during the school day.
As of Friday, July 31, Wayne County has had 304 lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, a day after the county health department announced the county’s ninth death related to the virus. After its number of hospitalizations recently dipped into the teens, Reid Health currently has 30 patients isolated in containment areas for COVID-19 cases or those suspected to have the virus and need medical care at Reid. Numbers are on the rise in neighboring counties as well. Henry County leads the counties touching Wayne with 356, and Henry’s northern neighbor, Delaware County, has 614. Franklin County is at 191 cases, Fayette County is at 149, Randolph County now has 101 cases, and Union County has 28.
Wayne County has confirmed its ninth death related to COVID-19 on Thursday (July 30). Wayne County Health Department was notified Thursday morning of another COVID-19 related death of a Wayne County resident. A man in his 80s died Wednesday, July 29, at Reid Health after an extended hospitalization. Before being transported to the hospital, the gentleman was a resident of a Wayne County long-term care facility, according to Christine Stinson, the health department’s executive director. Stinson announced the county’s eighth death related to COVID-19 on July 29.
Written by: Brenda McLane
Governor Eric Holcomb will be signing an executive order to keep Indiana at Stage 4.5 for at least the next two weeks, citing the volatility of the virus in Indiana, across the country and around the world. For the second week in a row Indiana’s positivity rate has increased. This week brought 4,300 new cases and just a month ago, Indiana recorded 3,000 cases. The broader spread of the virus is limiting the ability of Indiana and all states to get enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The governor made it a point to say that schools, churches, and the like “will look different through the foreseeable future.”
While Indiana is leaving the mask mandate in local county control, Holcomb is not ruling out a future statewide mask mandate.
As of June 17, Wayne County has 104 positive cases of COVID-19, and Reid Health has had 155 lab-confirmed positive cases in its eight-county service area. The hospital has 25 patients in containment areas. Wayne County has nearly caught up to Franklin County with 120 cases. Fayette County has 85 and Randolph County has 68. Union County has 12.
As of June 2, Indiana has 35,237 cases of COVID-19. There have been 2,022 deaths in the state, according to Indiana State Department of Health. Reid Health has had 138 lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 as of 10 a.m. June 3 in its eight-county service area, and currently has 24 patients in containment areas. A total of 2,394 tests have been submitted. As of June 2, Wayne County has had 86 confirmed COVID cases.
Wayne County will allow personal services such as hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors “and the like” to begin to reopen Monday, May 11, according to a statement released Saturday by Wayne County Health Department. They may be open by appointment only. Employees must wear face coverings, and work stations must be at least 6 feet apart. Wayne County Health Department encourages facilities to have policies to require the public to wear face coverings to provide protection to the staff, to the extent it is possible. The policy follows Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Roadmap to Get Back on Track.
Wayne County Health Department has confirmed two more local deaths related to COVID-19, with the information announced Thursday afternoon (May 7). The deaths took place at Reid Health on May 6 and May 7. Both of the Wayne County victims were men, with one older than 60 and older than 70. Wayne County now has had five deaths related to COVID-19. The health department has counted 51 presumptive positive lab cases and an additional 77 clinically diagnosed cases among Wayne County residents.