The state website listed the death toll at 33 on Friday.
The largest number of cases, 291, live in the 45014 ZIP code, which is largely Fairfield and includes parts of Hamilton and Ross Twp. The 45011 ZIP code, which is mainly Hamilton and areas to the north, has had 220 cases.
The latest data update came during a week when the health district issued a warning for some bus riders to self-monitor after a Middletown bus driver tested positive for coronavirus.
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“We’re following all the procedures we’re doing as much as we possibly can,” Butler County Regional Transit Authority Executive Director Matt Dutkevicz told the Journal-News. “There’s always an inherent risk to traveling in public and going out. But I think we have mitigated as many risks as we possibly can.”
He noted money is not changing hands because all the fixed route buses went fare-free in March so all passengers embark and disembark through secondary exits not near the drivers. He said his board has extended the free fare policy out to October. The majority of RTA budget is supported by federal grants not fare revenue and the RTA got some federal CARES funding earlier this year.
“I think anybody who was riding those buses had a very low chance of contracting anything,” he said. “But for the sake or transparency and being a public agency we wanted to make sure we share information.”
Health district officials said people who were on the blue and green lines in Middletown during the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., from May 27 to June 5, are asked to self-monitor for 14 days after their last ride on any of these routes.
Health Commissioner Jennifer Bailer agreed the risk is low but people with compromised immune systems should be aware.
“As we’ve learned more about COVID-19 transmission we now know that one’s risk increases if 15 minutes or more is spent within six feet of someone that has COVID-19,” Bailer said. “Brief interactions are less likely to result in transmission, so the risk for spreading COVID-19 in this specific case is low.”
Dutkevicz said they have been using medical grade cleaners on all buses and equipment daily and drivers carry cleaners with them on their routes to wipe down surfaces as often as possible. Temperatures are checked when staff report for duty and everyone is masked.
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