Joint Unified Command Center met for COVID-19 update

ZANESVILLE – The Zanesville – Muskingum Health Department believes that COVID numbers in the county are improving. The Health Department is working with other agencies to get people who qualify from Ohio’s Phase 1B vaccinated.

“Genesis has given over 8,000 vaccines so far. At the Health Department, we’re given around between 1,700 and 2,000, I think, and for the other entities, I don’t have their numbers but I know they’re giving vaccines as well. So, we are trying to get through the 1B’s. There’s about 18,000 people in 1B, and, so, we are working our way through that and hopefully we’ll get through that sooner and hopefully the vaccine supply will improve as we’re hearing nationally so we can meet the need of those people and ultimately get the vaccine to anybody who wants it,” Zanesville – Muskingum Health Department Medical Director Dr. Jack Butterfield said.

Butterfield explained that a patient does not necessarily need to quarantine if they are exposed to the Corona Virus after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.

“If you have fully vaccinated (and) you’ve received both doses, and, it has been at least two weeks since the second dose, and you have no symptoms, you do not need to quarantine for 90 days if you’re exposed to a positive case and the reason is the CDC has determined for a study that we appear to be fully immunized two weeks after the second dose,” Butterfield said.

With DeWine announcing the lift of the statewide curfew yesterday, Butterfield said people practicing safety measures in places like restaurants and grocery stores will go a long way in continuing to reduce numbers.