COLUMBUS, Ohio — Franklin County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola says yes, there are concerns about a spike in COVID-19 cases as businesses open across the state.
And for that reason, county officials are reaching out to business owners and the public alike to explain what’s expected from both parties.
“It's still preferred that individuals stay home. It's still preferred that individuals not take any unnecessary trips and to the store. Though we can't mandate it, we strongly, strongly recommend that individuals wear their face covering when they're out,” said Mazzola.
- A recent White House report listed Columbus as a “location to watch” when it comes to a possible spike in coronavirus cases
- To get ahead of the pandemic, contact tracing must occur to not only warn others of their exposure, but to prevent the spread
- The state of Ohio is looking to have 1,800 contact tracers by the summer
What You Need To Know
White House data from May 7 shows Franklin County had 1,021 new cases in a week— an increase of 65 percent.
Mazzola says the goal is to identify those cases as quickly as possible, and the county is working diligently with hospital partners and community health centers to expand testing capabilities.
“Some individuals, they'll say, what's going on in Franklin County? Well, you know for us, we want to identify those positive cases so we can isolate quickly, we can quarantine. That really is our priority right now, and we expect the numbers to increase,” said Mazzola.
“Any area can be a hotspot. This is what is important for the public to know, is that COVID-19 is here, it's not going anywhere,” said Dr. Joseph Gastaldo.
Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, the director of infectious disease at Ohio Health, says the key to battling the virus moving forward is contact tracing. It's a method that's been used for years. If the person who was exposed is infected, their recent contacts will be tracked down as well.
Dr. Gastaldo says the “Box It In” four-step strategy outlined by the CDC starts with testing and diagnosing a patient, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine.
“The contact tracer really has to contact them, communicate to them in a very empathic way, gain their trust, and to ask them specifically, hey, who have you had appropriate contact with? In studies of COVID-19, it's within a six-foot range for greater than 10 or 15 minutes,” said Dr. Gastaldo.
Mazzola says in addition to more testing, there will be more contact tracing. In fact, the county is looking to hire additional staff to conduct those interviews in coming weeks.
Overall the state plans to have 1,800 contact tracers by the summer to help battle this invisible enemy.
“Local health departments have about 650-675. We're going to be basically tripling. It takes a skill set, not in terms of understanding the disease, but understanding how to relate to people. We'll be looking to hire about 10 to 12 in the next couple weeks, to keep up with the expected number of cases we'll see here soon,” said Mazzola.