CELINA- (10-1-20) The Mercer County Health District (MCHD) reports the 18th Mercer County resident to die from COVID-19 was an 87-year-old male from Coldwater.

Auglaize County has reported 1 new death, a female between the ages of 80-100. The reporting of this death had been delayed pending review of death certificate information that did indicate COVID-19 as another contributing condition.

As of October 1, 2020, the MCHD reports 1,095 confirmed cases, 90 probable cases, 994 recovered cases, 52 pending cases, 3,571 negative cases, 3 hospitalizations, 18 deaths, and 2 probable deaths of COVID-19. There have been 3 confirmed cases who have passed away due to causes other than COVID-19. Currently, there are 78 active cases of COVID-19 in Mercer County.

For the ninth-consecutive week, Mercer County remains elevated at level 3 on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System issued by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The county remains at red because of the high incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases. Counties having more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents within the past two weeks qualify as high incidence counties. Mercer County has 259 new cases per 100,000 residents. Unfortunately, Mercer County is back to being ranked #1 in the state for Ohio counties ranked by highest incidence.

As of today, Mercer County has met the following indicators on the Ohio Public Health Advisory system:

  • More than 50 new cases/100,000 population in the most recent two weeks.
  • More than 50% of new cases have been in non-congregate settings during at least one of the most recent three weeks.

Active/New Mercer County Outbreak Updates:

  • Celina Manor (opened on September 6, 2020)
  • Briarwood (opened on July 7, 2020)
  • St. Henry High School (opened on September 30, 2020)
  • Benchmark Human Services (opened on September 30, 2020 – involves confirmed cases from Mercer, Auglaize, and Allen counties)

Even though two additional outbreaks were opened this week, the MCHD continues to see community spread and spread within families. It is likely that large social gatherings are also contributing to the high incidence of new COVID-19 cases in Mercer County.  It is important that these gatherings be held responsibly.  We want to remind our community to maintain social distancing of at least 6’ from non-household members, wear a face covering, follow good hygiene practices, stay home when sick, and limit the size of gatherings.  

Monthly COVID-19 Stats:

MonthNumber of Confirmed Cases
March (First case on 3/24)5 cases
April19 cases
May190 cases
June56 cases
July239 cases
August295 cases
September – present282 cases
October9 cases

MCHD will be holding its annual Drive-Thru Flu Vaccination Clinic at the Mercer County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM.  All who wish to take advantage of the convenience of this clinic are encouraged to come see us at the Fairgrounds.  To make the process quicker and more convenient, a link to the necessary forms is found on the front page of our website at www.mchdohio.org. We ask that the forms are filled out prior to the clinic.

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