Editor’s note: With our coronavirus coverage, our goal is not to alarm you but to equip you with the information you need. We will try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See a list of resources and frequently asked questions at the end of this story.
CINCINNATI - The city health commissioner reported two more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday and sharp increases in the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations.
Commissioner Melba Moore said the city's death total - now six - includes three African Americans and one Caucasian, with two unknown.
Moore reported 28 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city Wednesday for a total of 201. That's a jump of 37 since Monday and an increase of 67 since last Friday.
Hospitalizations have gone up from 20 Monday to 58 Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the number of patients recovered has stayed at 56 since Monday.
A neighborhood breakdown by Cincy Insights shows Westwood and East Westwood have combined for 26 cases - most in the city.
The east side has more cases than the west side.
SEE a map of city neighborhoods listing the number of confirmed cases in each.
Other neighborhood totals include:
- College Hill: 12
- Oakley: 11
- Bond Hill: 10
- Evanston: 10
- Hyde Park: 8
- West Price Hill: 8
- Clifton: 7
- Avondale: 7
- East Price Hill: 6
- Pleasant Ridge: 6
- Kennedy Heights: 5
- Mount Lookout: 5
- Madisonville: 4
- East Walnut Hills: 4
- Mount Auburn: 3
- Mount Washington: 3
- West End: 3
- Winton Hills: 3
- CBD/Riverfront: 2
- CUF: 2
- North Fairmount: 2
- Over-the-Rhine: 2
- Roselawn: 2
- Walnut Hills: 2
- Camp Washington: 1
- Columbia Tusculum: 1
- Corryville: 1
- East End: 1
- English Woods: 1
- Northside: 1
- Sayler Park: 1
- South Cumminsville: 1
- Winton Place: 1
- Carthage: 0
- California: 0
- Fairview: 0
- Fay Apartments: 0
- Linwood: 0
- Lower Price Hill: 0
- Millvale: 0
- Mount Adams: 0
- North Avondale: 0
- O'Bryonville: 0
- Paddock Hills: 0
- Pendleton: 0
- Riverside: 0
- Queensgate: 0
- Sedamsville: 0
- South Fairmount: 0
Moore said ages of the people who have died range from 49 to 86. Asked if she could give the victims' zip codes, Moore said she would have to find out if she's allowed to report that since "it goes back to protected health information."
Wednesday's briefing was later and shorter since it followed lengthy budget discussions and votes during the regular weekly City Council meeting.
In other announcements:
- Cranley said he would rescind part of an executive order requiring people who have had COVID-19 to inform first responders. Cranley said he has gotten feedback from medical professionals telling him that people who have recovered are no longer COVID-19 positive and don't pose a risk.
- Cranley asked people who can to donate the Freestore Foodbank or to the COVID Regional Response Fund online or by texting RAPID to 91999.
- The mayor again pleaded with residents to fill out the census at my2020census.gov.
- Cranley said the city has received 60 videos for his #StayHomeCincinnati Challenge. "I haven't watched all them but clearly they are fun and funny," he said. You can submit a video to stayhome@cincinnati-oh.gov or share on your account with hashtags #StayHomeCincinnati #InThisTogetherCincinnati.
- Cranley's next update will be 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Find more coronavirus/COVID-19 hotlines and resources below:
Ohio
- Department of Health COVID-19 hotline: 833-4-ASK-ODH
- See ODH’s COVID-19 resources here.
Kentucky
- State COVID-19 hotline: 1-800-722-5725
- See the Cabinet for Health and Family Services coronavirus resource site here.
Indiana
- SDH Epidemiology Resource Center: (317) 233-7125 or (317) 233-1325 after hours, or e-mail epiresource@isdh.in.gov
- See more information for coronavirus in Indiana here.
What is coronavirus, COVID-19?
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses are "a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
A novel coronavirus, such as COVID-19, is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
COVID-19 was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and has now been detected in 37 locations across the globe, including in the U.S., according to the CDC.
The CDC reports the initial patients in China have some link to a large seafood and live animal market, indicative of animal-to-person spread. A growing number of patients, however, did not report exposure to animal markets, indicating the disease is spreading person-to-person.
What are the symptoms? How does it spread?
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death, according to the CDC. Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath.
The CDC said symptoms could appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. It is similar to the incubation period for MERS.
Spread of the virus is thought to be mainly from person-to-person. Spread is between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet). Spread occurs via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
According to the CDC, it could be possible for a person to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, the CDC said.
The disease is most contagious when people are the sickest and showing the most symptoms.
