Henry County coronavirus cases continue to grow

MT. PLEASANT - Of the 202 positive coronavirus cases Henry County has recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, 90 occurred in August alone.

At a Board of Health meeting Monday, Public Health Director Shelley Van Dorin shared the 'sobering” statistics on where the county is in terms of positive cases.

The Monday meeting was called for Van Dorin to request additional staff to deal with the rapidly rising number of COVID cases.

As of Monday, the county currently has a 15.5 percent positivity rate across a 14-day rolling total and 75 active positive cases, according to the state website.

Before August, the county's highest number of active positive cases was 26 cases in May.

'Half of the total amount was worked up in August,” Van Dorin said. 'That was just through the 21st, we still have a week left.”

In the month of August, the county saw its two highest jumps in cases within a 24-hour period, recording 15 new cases on Aug. 14 and 13 new cases on Aug. 17.

Van Dorin reported that over the most recent weekend, the county 'had nine [cases] on Saturday and two on Sunday.”

At the time of the meeting, she said she had not yet learned of any new cases on Monday yet.

At a meeting earlier in the month, the public health director informed the board that the county has seen a more consistent rise in cases as compared to the 'trickle” the county had seen in months prior. Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 23, the county has seen at least one new case each day.

Henry County's rising positivity rate aligns with statewide numbers that also are continuing to climb. Over the weekend, the state saw a 15.49 percent positivity rate on tests within a 24-hour period, the highest positivity rate the state has seen in five weeks.

With cases continuing to rise in the county, Van Dorin is looking to add emergency staff to help with the workload. With CARES Act funding distributed by the state, the county as a whole is expecting to receive $252,000. The public health director said she expects her department to receive at least half of those funds.

With the funds, Van Dorin is looking to add three part-time and seasonal staff members who would work for the department from Sept. 15 through Dec. 15, the timeframe through which the CARES Act funds would cover costs.

Van Dorin said she is looking for an aid, a contact tracer and a nurse.

'I don't think we'll ever be able to get all three, but I'd like to find at least one or two people to help,” she said. Van Dorin added her staff has 'been putting in quite a few hours, working weekend and holidays.”

Board President Mary Liechty affirmed the department 'definitely needs additional staff.”

The board approved Van Dorin's request to move forward with hiring additional staff.