Butler County coronavirus cases rise to 43, health officials warn of coming surge

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Although there are 43 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death in a county of more than 380,000 people, Butler County officials are warning a surge is coming and people should continue to heed warnings.

As of 2:15 p.m. today the Butler County Health District reported 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up from 38 yesterday, and still one death.

Health Commissioner Jennifer Bailer has been holding periodic press conferences with the Butler County Sheriff, and Tuesday she repeated dire warnings. She said the state projects a “surge” in cases between mid-April and mid-May, meaning the number of sick needing medical care could outstrip resources.

She said prior to Monday night, when seven new cases were confirmed, the county was experiencing zero to three cases per day and “we’re getting to the point where things are going to get worse.”

“We will have more people needing spaces in hospitals than there will be spaces for them,” she said. “This is frank talk, this is hard talk, we will be moving into a situation where we will potentially exceed our health care’s ability to respond to us.”

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