“As Charlie (CCCHD Commissioner Charlie Patterson) has been saying, we are testing more but we are also seeing an increase in disease,” Smales said.
Patterson said on Friday the county had not yet reached the peak of the coronavirus pandemic curve.
“I think we are identifying more people because we are testing more people but I also think we are seeing more of the disease,” Patterson said. “So the two things are happening at the same time. More testing to identify and more of the virus in our community.”
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Of the 18 cases, 13 are considered probable, according to the CCCHD. Probable cases are most often symptomatic contacts of confirmed positive cases. Of the 13 probable cases reported Wednesday, six of the patients were identified from antibody testing, Smales said.
The antibody test, or professionally referred to as the Abbott test, is performed on a patient’s blood sample and determines if a patient has been previously infected with the coronavirus, Patterson said previously. Residents wanting the test do not need a doctor’s order.
CompuNet, located at 2355 Derr Road in Springfield, is currently taking walk-in antibody test appointments, according to the CCCHD. According to Premier Health, the Abbot test is $65 and payment is due at the time of the test. CompuNet cannot bill insurance companies for the patient-order direct access test.
The county is just beginning to see positive antibody tests, Smales said. Antibody testing began in Clark County in early May.
“Each person with a positive antibody test is contacted by the CCCHD and the case is investigated,” a post on the CCCHD’s website said. “If the person was symptomatic after Jan. 20, or they have an epidemiological link to a confirmed case, they are counted as a probable case.”
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In addition to testing, the district is continuing to monitor a workplace outbreak located outside the county. As of Thursday, 24 of the county’s coronavirus cases have been linked to that outbreak. The CCCHD said they cannot release information about which county the workplace is in or who the employer is, according to the CCCHD’s website.
The district has also been working with the Southbrook Career Center in Springfield as eight residents and four employees tested positive for the coronavirus, one resident has also died of the virus. As of Monday, 180 tests had been conducted at the facility, according to the CCCHD.
The district also announced on Wednesday that one Clark County resident tested positive for the coronavirus is an employee at Fox Run Senior Living, a senior living facility in Fairborn.
Clark County’s total cases increased by six Thursday for a total of 128 total cases, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s website. The county has reported two deaths and one probable death.
Cases have been found in the City of Springfield, Bethel Township, German Township, Mad River Township, Moorefield Township, Springfield Township, Green Township, Pleasant Township and New Carlisle.
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