ASHLAND — Less than two hours after the Ashland County Health Department alerted the public of its second confirmed positive case of coronavirus (COVID-19) within the county, the Ohio Department of Health updated its COVID-19 dashboard to reflect three cases in Ashland County.
The news of Ashland County’s second case broke at 12:30 p.m. Friday in a Facebook live press conference with the local health department’s Jill Hartson, Ashland’s Mayor Matt Miller and the County Commissioners. Headlines at Ashland Source and other local news outlets relayed the message immediately afterwards. Then, in the 2 p.m. update from the state’s department of health, it appeared Ashland County instead had three cases. This wasn’t the case, Hartson confirmed late Friday afternoon.
But why? What happened that the number of cases could be reported differently at the state level?
“Originally, we were notified this morning that we had two new confirmed cases, but further investigation revealed an old, incorrect address was used for one of the confirmed cases,” Hartson said. “We worked with ODH (Ohio Department of Health) to officially transfer the case to the correct jurisdiction.
“A glitch in the system caused the case to be identified incorrectly as an Ashland County case. The information should be accurately reflected after the next update to the ODH website.”
In the Saturday, March 28 update, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard now reflects the accurate confirmed positive case count: two.
This isn’t uncommon. In fact, nearby Richland and Knox Counties have seen similar discrepancies.
On Tuesday Richland County Public Health announced its third and fourth cases of COVID-19. Officials later determined a zip code error had been made and that one of those cases was outside Richland County.
Richland Public Health announced the change locally, but it was not as quickly rectified at the state level.
In Knox County, local reports showed a higher number of cases than the state, which Knox County Health Commissioner Julie Miller addressed Monday. When the Knox County Health Department reported two cases, the Ohio Department of Health reported one.
“We’ve had a delay,” Julie Miller said in an interview with Knox Pages. “There’s a state database that keeps all of the suspected and confirmed cases, and there’s been a delay in getting information into that state database. We are working hard with the places who had tested our two confirmed cases, to make sure they get the information in there.”
Miller encouraged residents to be patient with local and state health departments as they process the rising number of confirmed cases.
“Hang tight,” she told viewers. “We do have two positive cases, it’s just a delay in the state database getting completed. And a lot of that is due to the number of tests coming in and people not being able to keep up with the volume.”
As of Saturday afternoon, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard did accurately reflect Knox County’s two cases.
Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton acknowledged this discrepancy in her daily press briefing Monday, March 23. She shared a similar message with residents across the state: stay patient.
“Often you’re hearing things in the media at a local level before things are confirmed in our state system, so I just want to acknowledge that,” Acton said. “Even my statistics I give you are shot in time, they’re not what’s happening hour-to-hour.”
How much do the numbers matter anyways?
According to Ashland County Health Department Coordinator Jill Hartson, the numbers likely do not accurately reflect the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Ashland or in the state of Ohio — whether they are reported locally or at the state level.
“Try not to fixate on these numbers because it’s not a very accurate picture of what’s going on. In our community and in the state of Ohio, we do still have limited testing capabilities,” Hartson said. “So even though we might only have several cases, those are only the case that we know of.”
This is not surprising and should not cause alarm. This scenario isn’t unique to Ashland; it can be seen across Ohio, across the country.
In West Virginia — the last state to report a positive case — Senator Joe Manchin has vehemently cited the lack of testing for its low count, and residents have recounted stories of being turned away despite symptoms.
The MinnPost reported last week the Minnesota Department of Health was allowing health care providers to use their discretion in testing. The same story can be found elsewhere, too.
In Ashland, Hartson said, tests are being used for those who are hospitalized, those who are moderately ill with co-morbidities and health professionals who exhibit signs of COVID-19. Testing is limited, and therefore not available to everyone.
Ashland County’s second confirmed positive COVID-19 case comes after the first affected Ashland County resident has recovered, but in the coming days, a number of outstanding tests may be able to provide greater context around Ashland County’s situation.
“We will figure out a way to get that information out to you as quick as possible,” Mayor Matt Miller said about new cases.
About COVID-19
COVID-19 is a type of coronavirus that can cause mild to more severe respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms appear within 14 days of being exposed to an infectious person.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 spreads primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Those at high risk for illness of COVID-19 are individuals over 60 with chronic illness or a weakened immune system.
Protect yourself and others from COVID-19 and other communicable diseases by following these recommendations:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Avoid close contact with individuals who are ill.
- Stay home when you are ill.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue that you immediately discard.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces at home and in your office using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Knox Pages reporter Grant Pepper contributed to this report.
