Gabe Jones, health commissioner for the district, said the second patient is not known to have had contact with the first patient — making it the county’s first case of community spread.
“We have suspected for some time that there is community spread within Champaign County,” Jones said. “We urge all residents to continue taking all the precautionary measures they can.”
According to the district’s statement, all contacts of both positive cases have been asked to quarantine and are being monitored by CHD.
“Each time a case of COVID-19 is confirmed in Champaign County, anyone who has been in closed contact with that positive case will be contacted by the CHD,” the statement said. “The outbreak of COVID-19 is a stressful time for individuals and communities. Champaign Health District encourages everyone to be considerate towards everyone who is affected.”
MORE: ‘It was only a matter of time’: Champaign County reports first positive coronavirus case
As of Thursday afternoon, Clark County also has two positive cases of coronavirus, a woman in her 60s and a Bethel Twp. veteran in his 70s. But unlike in Champaign County, the two patients had contact with one another.
Both counties are offering testing at their Mercy Health affiliate emergency department, Mercy Health Springfield and Mercy Health Urbana.
Jones said in order to be tested at Mercy Health Urbana, residents must fall into certain categories. Patients must either be a healthcare worker with high-risk exposure to a known coronavirus patient and must have not been wearing a mask when seeing the patient or patients must be a hospitalized patient with certain respiratory symptoms.
Hospitalized patients must be housed in negative pressure rooms and must have been admitted to designated respiratory units or admitted to the ICU with a high suspicion of coronavirus.
Last Friday, Clark County Combined Health District Commissioner Charles Patterson said the district was seeking to add additional testing locations.
“Things change never quickly,” CCCHD spokesperson Emma Smales said. “Mercy Health and CCCHD are optimistically waiting on testing supplies to be available. We are also waiting to hear guidance from the Ohio Department of Health regarding who is recommended to be tested.”
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