Second COVID-19 death reported in Medina County

MEDINA — The novel coronavirus pandemic claimed the life of a second Medina County resident Friday, according to the latest numbers released Sunday by the Ohio Department of Health. Like the county's first fatal case, the victim was a male and in his 80s. Latest statistics show Medina County now having 78 recorded cases with 23 of those requiring hospitalization. The county's number of confirmed cases had risen everyday since March 14 with numbers coming in at 72 confirmed cases \Friday. Medina County Health Commissioner Krista Wasowski released zip code data for confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday after previously saying her department would not do so. Making the information available follows similar measures in Cuyahoga and Stark counties. "Publishing COVID-19 case data by zip code could lead to a false sense of security for people who may think they have a lower risk if their zip code has few or no confirmed cases," Wasowski said less than a week ago when the confirmed case count stood at 55. "Case numbers will continue to rise in all areas, and so must our efforts to slow the spread." The vast majority of Medina County's cases are concentrated in the 44256, 44212, and 44333 zip codes, with a chart from Wasowski showing those areas each having 21-34 recorded cases. Zip codes surrounding those areas — including 44280, 44233, 44254, 44273, 44281 — are shown to have two to five cases. Remaining areas of the county are recorded as having one or zero cases. The range is not an exact count for each area, but offers a look at the location of confirmed cases within the county. "We have reached a significant threshold of confirmed COVID-19 cases and have made the decision internally to release zip code data," Wasowski said. "... This data does not portray the full infectivity level in Medina County. COVID-19 is widely community spread and testing is extremely limited. Testing is reserved for only the sickest and we know that there have been many people who have recovered at home. Please assume that all areas are at risk." According to the state department of health, Ohio now has 4,043 recorded cases with 3percent, 119 of those cases proving fatal. Twenty-seven percent of cases have required hospitalization and nice percent have needed ICU treatment. Twenty percent of recorded cases (823) have been among health care workers. The median age for patients has been 53 and there have been 43,756 people tested in Ohio as of Sunday. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.