The Ross County Health District is reporting the first positive case of COVID-19 in a Ross County resident. The case is associated with travel outside of the state.
Ross County Health District’s infectious disease staff are following established guidelines for the investigation of infectious disease and are communicating daily with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Anyone who has been in close contact with this individual will be contacted. In order to protect the privacy of the individual during this time of illness, the Health District will not be releasing any additional demographic information relating to this case.
“Even though this is the first positive case in Ross County, it does not change our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ben Avery, Administrator at the Ross County Health District. “We have been operating under the assumption that COVID-19 is in the county, along with community spread.”
The Health District and Ross County Emergency Management Agency have been working with community partners, government agencies, state and federal responders, and other agencies for several weeks to prepare the Ross County community for the potential impact of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Health District urges residents of Ross County to take Governor DeWine’s ‘Stay At Home’ Order seriously. Everyone working together to follow the guidelines including social distancing, hand washing, and covering your cough can have a great impact on our number of cases.