As COVID numbers fall, hospital resumes outpatient surgeries
DOVER (WJER) (February 14, 2022) – It’s almost back to business as usual at Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital as COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped significantly since the beginning of the year.
Hospital Spokesperson Darrin Lautenschleger says doctors there have started scheduling elective surgeries again.
“We encourage folks if they were waiting on those and wondering what to do about that to contact their doctor’s office that originally scheduled that and talk about rescheduling,” he said. “Also, (we encourage folks) to really think about getting back to some of their routine healthcare appointments; maybe their annual physical.”
The hospital had 11 COVID patients Monday. Lautenschleger says that’s a dramatic drop from 40 to 50 COVID patients daily in early January.
“We’ve also seen a steady decline in the number of our caregivers who have had COVID or who were being tested for it and were off work,” he said. “That’s gratifying to see that we’re starting to mirror some of the things we’re seeing in the rest of society and that’s being reported by the health departments.”
The number of new COVID-19 cases per week in Tuscarawas County is down almost 90 percent from a month ago. The Tuscarawas County Health Department reported 131 last week, down from nearly 1,100 a month ago. Active cases have also fallen dramatically, from 2,500 Jan. 24 to 634 Feb. 14.
The lower numbers have led the Tuscarawas County Commissioners to lift mask requirements for county buildings. However, that doesn’t apply to the courthouse or Community Corrections Program offices. Common Pleas Court judges are keeping their mask policy in place, so all visitors to the courthouse are required to wear masks.
The Health Department also still requires guests to wear masks.