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COVID-19 Update: Case Increases in children in Cleveland, and adults in Southwest Ohio

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Jun 19, 2020

Case Increase Seen in Hamilton* and Warren** Counties

1-Day Increase of 764 New Deaths in Ohio

Loveland, Ohio – Governor DeWine announced yesterday that although Ohio is seeing an overall declining number of COVID-19 cases, there is currently an uptick in cases in Southwest Ohio.

Increase in COVID-19 Cases in children at Cleveland Hospital

Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease doctor and associate medical director for infection control at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, yesterday provided information on an increase in the percentage of children testing positive for COVID-19 at Rainbow Babies.

What we’ve really been seeing recently is an increase of the percent of tests that are coming back positive. It’s to be expected as the state opens that we’re going to start to see more positive kids

“What we’ve really been seeing recently is an increase of the percent of tests that are coming back positive, particularly in symptomatic children – meaning that for kids who have symptoms of a respiratory viral disease, a larger percent of them are coronavirus than earlier in the pandemic,” Dr. Edwards said. “It’s to be expected as the state opens that we’re going to start to see more positive kids, but that rate has been going up, and it is something we’re keeping our eye on. It hasn’t gone up dramatically, about 5 – 6 percent or so, but it has been a steady increase, and it has not stopped increasing as of yet.”

Dr. Edwards said that hospital admissions for COVID-19 in children at Rainbow Babies have also increased.

Symptoms of COVID-19 in kids

Symptoms of COVID-19 in kids are similar to symptoms in adults. If your child seems to be having trouble breathing or is not eating or drinking, Dr. Edwards recommends calling your pediatrician to get your child tested.

In addition, Dr. Edwards reported that cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome

In addition, Dr. Edwards reported that cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children have also increased at Rainbow Babies. Symptoms include high fever, rash, red eyes, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains. More information on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is available at uhhospitals.org.

SOUTHWEST OHIO CASE INCREASE

Increases are being seen in Montgomery County, Greene County, Clark County, Warren County, and Hamilton County. Case counts in these counties by zip code can be found on coronavirus.ohio.gov.

Pop-up Testing

In response to this increase in cases, Governor DeWine announced that pop-up testing sites will surge into the zip codes with the highest number of cases. Testing at pop-up sites is free, and citizens are not required to live in the community where the pop-up site is located to receive a test.

New pop-up testing sites will also be scheduled in other locations to ensure testing accessibility throughout the state. A list of sites currently scheduled in Ohio is available on coronavirus.ohio.gov on the COVID-19 Minority Health Testing page.