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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Belmont County had its first death related to COVID-19 on Monday.
The Belmont County Health Department reported the death of a hospitalized patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus. Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said the patient was a 92-year-old man who had underlying health conditions.
"On behalf of the entire county, we express our deepest sympathies for the family and friends of the patient who died," Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said.
"We also extend our sympathies to the other Ohioans battling this illness and the families of everyone affected by this pandemic."
Sproul said to protect the patient's privacy, no identifiable information will be released. He said his department was unsure how long the man had been hospitalized.
"We haven't been documenting the days they've been going in, because when they go in, they become the hospital's responsibility," Sproul said.
He said the deceased man had not been on the health department's contact list from current patients and may have been infected with the virus while traveling.
As of the weekend, Belmont County had 23 positive cases and picked up two more Monday morning.
"We are at 23 right now, with three hospitalized," Sproul said. The department was in the process of getting in touch with people who had been in contact with the two new cases.
Of these, eight have been cleared and several others are close to being released from quarantine.
The hospitalized cases include a man and woman in their 80s who were admitted last week. The most recent hospitalized case is a woman.
"We had an additional one who went in," he said, adding his department was unsure of the age of the newly hospitalized patient. "We just got notice they were going in, so I'd have to get that information."
Since last week, Sproul has said a sharp increase in positive cases has been predicted by state health officials.
"This is when they're expecting the surge to happen, so we're kind of monitoring it very closely," he said, adding his department is taking precautions.
"We are basically half-staffing, so we have half of our staff at home and half of our staff working, just in case someone would develop the COVID-19 they wouldn't take down the entire department," he said. "We're going to be able to stay open."
Meanwhile, Brooke County health officials in West Virginia confirmed the county's first case of the COVID-19 virus.
In a post on its website Monday, the Brooke County Health Department confirmed it had received a positive test for the novel coronavirus. The confirmed case is a female in her 40s, who is self-isolating at home, according to officials.
County health officials are working to identify any individuals who potentially may have had close contact with the individual, including family members, friends and health care professionals. Those identified will be requested to undergo testing for COVID-19.