Jennie Stuart

Robert Celing was hospitalized for 12 days after becoming ill from a coronavirus infection. He received a plasma transfusion that a Jennie Stuart Medical Center doctor said probably saved his life.

The health department is asking local residents to pay attention to their surroundings, especially in settings with several people, in the event they need to later help identify people with whom they had contact.

The Christian County Health Department reported the county’s fourth death related to COVID-19 and a surge in coronavirus cases, from 182 to 225 in one day, on Thursday. Some of the cases involved construction workers at the Oak Grove facility.

Public health officials are urging people to get tested for COVID-19 — in addition to frequent hand-washing, wearing a mask and social distancing — to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Some people with no symptoms have been infected but don’t know they carry the virus and could spread it to others.

At least 4,103 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the county. That includes 2,284 by the health department and 1,819 by Jennie Stuart. Additional testing has been done through local physicians’ offices and medical clinics, but those numbers are not being reported.

Patients will be allowed to have one visitor, and visitors will be given surgical masks to wear.

Statewide, 443 people were hospitalized, and 20 deaths were reported, the most in a single day since the start of the coroanvirus outbreak.

The county could see a spike in people testing positive for COVID-19 as more residents get out of their homes when businesses reopen, the county health director said.