For the first time, Union County is ranked in the top 10 Ohio counties with the highest occurrence of COVID-19.
According to data from the Ohio Department of Health, Union County had 803.6 new cases per 100,000 people from Nov. 2 for Nov. 15. The data excludes cases among incarcerated individuals.
The county actually recorded 474 cases during this time period, which was extrapolated to compare between counties with differing populations.
“It was almost unimaginable eight weeks ago that this is where we would be,” Union County Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said during the Board of Health meeting Wednesday morning.
Union County’s rate of occurrence is the ninth highest in the state during the listed time period.
Orcena said in the span of less than a month, the number of cases has “escalated more than four times where we were.”
He said there has been “almost a doubling (of cases) every week for the past three weeks.”
The health commissioner emphasized that the vast majority of cases are “truly community transmission,” mostly from social gatherings.