County sees first Covid-19-related death

VW independent/submitted information

On Wednesday, the Van Wert County General Health District reported the death of a hospitalized Van Wert County resident who had tested positive for COVID-19. 

“The Van Wert County General Health District would like to express our deepest sympathies for the family and friends of the patient,” said a health department representative. “The patient was in the age range of 70-79.” 

At this time there have been no new confirmed cases reported. On Tuesday, Van Wert County reported 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in county residents. 16 of the confirmed cases are still active. 24 cases have recovered. 1 person is currently hospitalized and 1 death is now being reported. 

The Van Wert County General Health District does not release the number of county residents tested because we are unable to obtain an accurate number. For example, the Van Wert County Hospital (Van Wert Health) reported on July 7, that they have tested 553 individuals with the PCR test (nasal swab). However, all of these tests may not have been conducted on county residents. Van Wert County residents also travel to other areas to obtain tests, and the health department does not receive reports of the tests conducted at other labs, unless the tests are positive. Van Wert Health has performed 114 antibody tests to date. If the antibody tests are positive, they are not included in the count of confirmed cases, they are put into the probable case count. 

The Van Wert County General Health District is investigating an outbreak at Greve Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. There are currently five confirmed Van Wert County residents who are employed by Greve in Van Wert. Of the five employees, three are still active cases, the other two have recovered. The Van Wert County Health Department is working with Greve Chrysler to prevent further spread of the virus. 

There have been a total of nine confirmed cases in county residents who are employed by Cooper Farms. Seven of those cases have recovered. 

If you have questions about Covid-19, contact the Van Wert County General Health District at 419.238.0808. For information on Covid-19 including ways you can prepare and help protect the health of yourself 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.