Trending
WHEELING – A fourth person in Ohio County has died from complications of COVID-19, capping a month in which a surge of new coronavirus cases hit the county.
The 49-year-old woman, whose identity was not released, died Thursday while being treated at an area hospital, Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department Administrator Howard Gamble said.
She was the third person in the county to die from COVID-19 in July as the total number of new coronavirus cases nearly tripled last month. The first death was reported in the county April 13.
July has seen an explosion of new COVID-19 cases with 161 reported during the month, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the county's 254 total cases since the first one was reported in late March. Five people in Ohio County are currently hospitalized with COVID-related illnesses, Gamble said.
The number of new cases has steadily ticked up each week since June 14 after an outbreak was discovered at First Baptist Church in Wheeling. Cases have been in double digits every week since and hit a record number of 58 the week of July 19 before tapering off to 19 this past week. Gamble said he is "very concerned" about the spike in new cases in July and attributed it to summer travel and larger gatherings.
"We thought we were heading in the right direction right before the July 4th holiday," Gamble said. "So when you begin to see large spikes, you're concerned that as citizens we're not following simple guidelines, like wearing masks or taking precautions while traveling."
He reminded residents to follow simple guidelines, such as wearing a mask while in public, washing one's hands regularly and socially distancing while around other people. He added that if people plan to hold events, they should do so in a safe manner that does not put others in danger.
"The biggest tool we have right now is wearing a mask. Really, it's the only tool we have as a preventative measure, barring a vaccine," Gamble said. "Then we don't have to get into more authoritative measures, such as stay-at-home order."
Gov. Jim Justice designated Ohio County as a coronavirus "hotspot" on April 10, allowing county health officials to place restrictions on gatherings and the number of people allowed inside businesses. However, those restrictions were loosened after Justice removed the "hotspot" designation May 4. New cases have steadily increased since that time.
"We thought we were heading in the right direction," Gamble said.
Marshall County has less than half the number of cases as Ohio County, but has experienced a similar spike in July. The number of cases in Marshall County nearly tripled in July, increasing from 47 to 121 during the month. No deaths have been reported in the county from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, but three people in Marshall County are currently hospitalized due to the coronavirus.
Mark Ackermann, the county health department's threat assessment coordinator, blamed the increase on "large-scale gatherings and parties" residents have been throwing over the summer and are nearly impossible to socially distance. He said those gatherings include Fourth of July celebrations, graduation parties and even a baby shower that contributed to numerous cases.
"It's feeding these numbers," he said.
Ackermann said some of the attendees are parents, who are then returning home and transferring the virus to their young children. He said they're now concerned about Labor Day celebrations with school scheduled to start the next day.
"We'd like to have the governor push schools back two more weeks to see if we're getting more cases during that timeframe," Ackermann said.