Health Dept. reports 5th COVID-19 death

VW independent/submitted information

On Thursday, the Van Wert County General Health District reports the death of a fifth Van Wert County resident who tested positive for COVID-19. The person was in the age range of 100-110 years. 

As indicated in the last two weeks, the spread of COVID-19 has increased drastically in Van Wert County and the number does not appear to be slowing. The Van Wert County Health Department has a small number of staff members and the increase in case load has been difficult to manage. Staff members are asking the community to help by doing the following: 

• Stay home if sick, especially if waiting for test results.
• Those who receive a positive test result should isolate immediately.
• Those testing positive should begin to make a list of contacts. This includes people they were close to (less than 6 feet for
• more than 15 minutes) for two days prior to when symptoms started or if asymptomatic, for two days prior to positive test results.
• Alert contacts if possible and ask them to quarantine.
• Be patient with the Health District staff, as staff members are trying to contact people as quickly as possible. Continue to help slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by staying home if sick, washing hands, wearing a mask when out, and keep at least 6 feet of distance between oneself and anyone who is not in the household. Keep gatherings small and spread out.

The Van Wert County Health Department is releasing statistics weekly on Thursday. Again, its staff is small and it is difficult to release updates daily. For daily updates, visit the www.coronavirus.ohio.gov site and click on the dashboard. The dashboard shows total cases when Van Wert County is selected, and people must select confirmed to see the difference in confirmed versus probable cases. 


Those who have questions about COVID-19 should contact the Van Wert County General Health District at 419.238.0808. For information on COVID-19, including ways people can prepare and help protect the health of themselves and others, go to www.coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 833.427.5634). Information and resources are also available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.coronavirus.gov.