In less than two weeks, Lawrence County has seen the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases go up from 30 to 43 cases.

 

On Thursday, the Lawrence County Health Department announced that there were 43 cases, although the Ohio Department of Health numbers indicated the number of cases was at 40. The health department said the numbers would be updated by ODH on Friday.

 

“Of the 40 shown, 20 are male, 20 are female,” the Lawrence County Health Department posted on Facebook. “The youngest is less than 2 years old, the oldest is 81. There were four brief hospitalizations (no recent hospitalizations).”

 

The health department said “there are 10 zip codes in Lawrence County, and pretty much every one of them has been affected. The Ohio Department of Health is working on zip code data and that will be released soon. Please know that anyone listed as a contact of a confirmed case is contacted, as are any businesses or places the confirmed case might have been.”

 

Of the 43 cases, 30 are out of isolation, 13 are being followed by the health department and they are monitoring 38 contacts. 2,631 tests have been done by the health department.

 

Thirty-nine confirmed cases were reported on Wednesday, up from 35 on Tuesday. On June 10, there were 32 cases. There were 30 cases from May 29-June 9. The first case in the county was on March 25.

 

The health department said they understood the worry and concern of the public as they see a rise in the number of confirmed cases. They said that as more things open up and as people travel more, the chance of contracting COVID-19 increases. There were 700 new cases in the state on Thursday and cases across the U.S. went up by nearly 28,000 on Wednesday.

 

“So we MUST assume it’s everywhere,” the health department wrote. “We have to do what we can to protect ourselves and our families, and today that means going back to the basics.”

 

The basic includes washing hands often with soap and water, using hand sanitizer when soap and water isn’t available, wear a mask when in public, avoid crowded areas and practice social distancing.

 

“If you are having symptoms or if you’re worried that you’ve been exposed, your physician can arrange testing,” the health department said.

 

There will be a free testing event at Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth next Wednesday from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.