The death toll from the coronavirus inside Ohio's nursing homes continues to climb.
The state's health department says close to 500 residents of long-term care centers have died in the past three weeks. That's nearly double the total reported the two weeks prior to that. The Ohio Department of Health says the increase in deaths could be attributed to a significant jump or a backlog of cases being added this past week. Seven counties across the state have seen more than 30 deaths at long-term care centers since Mid-April.
Locally only Allen, Auglaize, and Putnam counties have reported cases at long-term care facilities. As of the last reported data released on Wednesday, Allen County has seven facilities with residents and or staff infected and is reporting 18 deaths, Putnam County has the Meadows of Leipsic nursing home and assisted living center, which has reported 12 deaths. Auglaize County has three separate facilities with cases and have reported 2 deaths.
