The number of Greene County residents who have died of Covid-19 is now pegged at six, not three or two as has been reported previously.
Greene County director of public health Becky Wolf explains the number of deaths has fluctuated in recent days to updates in identifying which deaths are Covid-related, looking at underlying causes and contributing factors. She apologized for confusion as reporting processes change.
Of the four deaths not previously counted, Wolf reports one person was age 60-79 and the other three were 80 or older. All of the individuals had underlying causes, defined as a disease or injury that initiated the events resulting in death.
“The staff of Greene County public health expresses our deepest condolences to the families. We are so very sorry for your loss,” Wolf said.
The 14-day positivity rate for Covid-19 testing of Greene County residents has again edged up, now at 12.5 percent as of Tuesday morning, Dec. 15, up from 11.2 yesterday.
Twelve new cases were identified in the previous 24 hours, 14 in the last three days, 39 in the last seven days, and 73 in the last 14 days. Of the total 619 cases, 192 persons have active cases and 427 residents are considered to be recovered.
Twenty-five percent of the total patients had no pre-existing health condition and 49 percent had no Covid symptoms.
Breakdown for age groups for Greene County positive cases is as follows:
- 0-18 years: 16 percent
- 19-39 years: 28 percent
- 40-59 years: 32 percent
- 60-74 years: 20 percent
- 80 and older: 6 percent
Positive cases by zip code are:
- Jefferson: 348
- Scranton: 79
- Churdan: 40
- Grand Junction: 46
- Rippey: 27
- Paton: 34
- Dana: 1
- Coon Rapids: 5
- Bagley: 6
- Jamaica: 5
- Perry: 3
- Lake City: 1
- Gowrie: 2
Wolf also provided information about consumer scams related to Covid-19. Scams are targeting older Americans with bogus tests, cures or vaccine waiting lists. Some scammers pose as contact tracers. Robocall scams focus on stealing insurance information, money, or both.
She shares the following tips:
- Do not respond to calls or texts from unknown numbers
- Never share your personal or financial information via email, text messages, or over the phone
- Be cautious if being pressures to share any information or make a payment immediately
- Scammers often spoof phone numbers to trick you into answering or responding
- Avoid clicking any links in a text message. If a friend sends you a test with a suspicious link that’s seems out of character, call them to make sure they weren’t hacked
- Always check on a charity (by calling or looking at its actual website) before donating
- If you think you’ve been a victim of a coronavirus scam, contact law enforcement immediately
For more information, check these AARP and CDC web links:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/phishing.html
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/coronavirus-vaccine-scams.html
