Report highlights COVID’s impact on county, spike in Lyme infections
DOVER (WJER) (March 8, 2022) – Communicable disease cases in Tuscarawas County hit a record high last year.
The Tuscarawas County and New Philadelphia health departments investigated just under 11,000 cases in 2021, or 3,000 more than in 2020. Jennifer Demuth is the director of health promotions and community relations for the county health department. She says COVID accounted for the vast majority of those investigations.
“Of the number of cases that were reported to us, sadly 95 percent of cases did involve COVID-19. So we can see in 2021 COVID-19 continued to have a burden on Tuscarawas County residents.”
The statistics came from the agency’s 2021 Communicable Disease Report, which lists 140 Lyme Disease cases in the county last year compared to 68 in 2020.
“We just really want folks to be aware of that and be really on the lookout for ticks especially as spring is right around the corner,” she says. “The use of insect repellent and also wearing long sleeves and pants can be very helpful. And after being outdoors, closely check yourself and any children that might be with you for ticks and remove those ticks promptly to help prevent any kind of tick-borne disease.”
Not including COVID, Lyme Disease was the fourth most reported transmissible illness in the county last year behind chlamydia, gonorrhea, and Hepatitis C. You can view the full report through a link on the county health department’s Facebook page and website.