Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is announcing five (5) new cases of COVID-19 in Ohio County. Currently, the health department reports a total of 460 cases, including ten (10) probable cases and seven (7) deaths. Case surveillance, contact tracing, and monitoring continues for many of the reported cases.
Ohio County Schools and the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is announcing that Wheeling Park High School will be closed for 5 days, starting Monday, October 19, 2020, as a result of multiple positive COVID-19 cases at the school.
Two (2) new positive COVID-19 cases have been identified at Wheeling Park High School. One case is an adult staff member that tested positive on 10/18/20. The second case is a student who tested positive on 10/18/20. The health department and school officials have investigated and identified staff that were direct contacts. Those individuals have been contacted and placed in quarantine.
Ohio County Schools and the health department will monitor additional cases during the week and determine resuming in-person instruction for the week of October 26th. Students will continue remote learning during the school closure.
School staff will conduct appropriate disinfection and cleaning of all areas within the school over the weekend. All students and staff should monitor their health. Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested. Ohio County Schools and the County Health Department reminds all students and staff to continue to follow proper COVID-19 prevention and health practices including wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, hand washing, and routine cleaning.
Investigation to date indicates that cases are associated with resident and nonresident vacation travel, group events including family gatherings, cases at higher education centers, and cases with no other risk factor, which can be an indicator of active community spread. The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is monitoring five outbreaks among facilities in Ohio County. These facilities include two local long-term care centers, a local university, public schools transportation, and a residential care facility.
