After recovering from COVID-19, Commissioner Kevin Boyce pleads for added precaution
Having suffered from the effects of COVID-19, which forced him into a Mt. Carmel West Hospital emergency room, Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce and others are sharing the importance of practicing preventive measures to slow the spread.
During an announcement of a four-week stay-at-home advisory by the county and city of Columbus on Wednesday, the commissioner shared his experience after testing positive for the coronavirus this month.
While unsure how he contracted the virus, Boyce said he suspects he was infected days before election day while campaigning despite regularly washing his hands, social distancing and wearing a mask.
"I just can't think of a moment I might have been exposed," he said.
While briefly resting in his hospital bed, all he could think about was his family and the other people he was in contact with, including Commissioner John O'Grady – who's undergone several heart surgeries.
After hearing of Boyce's positive result, O'Grady was told that he didn't need to be tested due to their lack of direct contact. But he said it's important, given Boyce's status as a public official, to describe the difficulties he faced and advocate for increased safety in the community.
"For a public official who struggled through it the way he did, speaking up means a lot because it put a face to it for a lot of people," O'Grady said.
As Boyce quarantined in his apartment, tethered to an oxygen monitor, he was encouraged by Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts to describe the seriousness of the harmful disease, especially with the overwhelming rise in cases across the state.
The pandemic has soared throughout Ohio'. Over 7,000 cases were reported on Tuesday, up from about 1,000 cases a day in September. And on Wednesday, the state reported at least 6,385 cases had been verified, with "thousands" still to review as it posted "incomplete" data.
With the increased spread, Gov. Mike DeWine announced a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., stay-at-home curfew that started Thursday and will last 21 days. Retail businesses also are expected to be closed by 10 p.m. except for necessities such as grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants for carryout and deliveries. Gas station convenience stores also are exempt.
Commissioner Marilyn Brown said it was important that she and the other commissioners joined local health officials on Wednesday to provide a community-wide message at a vital time in central Ohio.
"We had to do it because the situation is dire," she said. "If we don't get control of this virus people will die, and we cannot manage this virus without people staying at home and staying safe."
While precautionary steps are important, Boyce said the best method is for people to stay at home, especially around the holiday season.
"This is serious and real, and if these spikes aren't an alarm to someone then they're going to be part of the problem," he said. "We should all hunker down a little more, do less as far as interacting and try to avoid it on every level."
Brown said these challenges have rested on a lack of administrative leadership on the national level, but she said unity within the county and state will lead to a successful fight against the lethal disease.
"I think it's important we have a unified message," she said. "For me, it's about a shared sacrifice now so that we can celebrate later, and that everybody needs to dig in deep and really sacrifice now."
Going forward, O'Grady said the commissioners will continue developing messaging around the pandemic, especially for residents between ages 18-40.
"They aren't hearing the message of people their age dying from it," he said. "They just aren't worrying about it and they don't want it impacting their lives ... But that's the age group that's killing us in central Ohio."
O'Grady said public information officers throughout the county's various agencies are working together to develop these messages, which will be backed by county funding and placed on local TV channels, radio stations and other media.