MOUNT VERNON — With five more COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday in Knox County, and the county now two cases shy of 100 — 58 of them since the start of the month — Gov. DeWine’s mandatory mask order couldn’t come soon enough for Knox Public Health Commissioner Julie Miller, who has been advocating for mask-wearing in public places for months.
DeWine’s mandatory mask order goes into effect at 6 p.m. today.
Currently, every county surrounding Knox except Ashland is either orange or red on a rating that goes by the risk of community spread. But at the rate the county surge is going, staying yellow won’t go on much longer unless behavior changes, Miller said. And one of those factors is wearing masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The county has yet to hear the COVID-19-related results of 266 tests administered Monday at East Knox schools. At least some of those test results will likely come back positive, Miller said.
She was asked where the majority of new cases are coming from in the county. Her first response was gatherings at private residences — ostensibly where the state cannot enforce a long-standing order mandating that no more than 10 people gather in a social setting. She also mentioned spiritual/religious services, weddings, funerals and youth sports.
By location in Knox County, the cases have followed the expected pattern by community size, going by zip code: 38 cases in Mount Vernon, 14 in Howard, 13 in Centerburg, 11 in Fredericktown, 10 in Danville, four in Utica (Knox County side), three in Gambier, three in Butler, one in Frazeysburg and one in Walhonding.
The good news for Knox County is that nearly all recent positive tests have resulted in home isolation for two weeks for self-monitoring with no hospitalizations, Miller said. The exception was the county’s second COVID-19 related fatality, when a 74-year-old man died Saturday after suffering from pneumonia-related to the virus. He had initially been hospitalized at Knox Community Hospital after a positive test was revealed on July 4.
After showing no symptoms the man was later released, and thought to be recovered before becoming sick again and being readmitted to KCH before transfer to St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville.
Unlike other cities where hospital intensive care units have been overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, many of them hooked onto ventilators, “We have been blessed that our hospital has not been impacted,” Miller offered.
“The big concern here is that we’ve seen such a large increase in cases in such a short amount of time,” KPH Spokesperson Pam Palm said.
In action taken Wednesday, the county Health Board:
•Hired KPH’s Zach Green to the position of deputy health commissioner, effective Monday. Green has been with the county for five years, hired in 2015 as an emergency preparedness coordinator. Last year he was named division director of administration and operations. He will assist Miller in developing recommendations for procedures and policies for public schools as students return to school next month.
•Approved a contract with the Village of Danville to assemble and install an outdoor drinking fountain at the Mohican Valley Trail for a maximum cost of $5,000, paid for by the Knox County Community Health Center.
•Approved amendments to letters of commitment with Yellowbird Foodshed, Baker’s IGA, and the Mount Vernon’s Farmers Market, with the Knox County Community Health Center to pay those entities $5,000 each to extend the fledgling Produce Prescription Program. The program provides healthy meal cooking demonstrations and vouchers to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for those who qualify based on income guidelines. Lanning’s Foods was also approved for a letter of commitment for $5,000. The program was previously grant-funded.
