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Volume 12, Issue 02
Respiratory illnesses on the rise Lorain County cases of flu, COVID-19 and RSV ‘dramatically’ increased heading into 2025
GARRETT LOOKER THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
Cases of respiratory illnesses have “dramatically increased” in late December throughout Lorain County. The rise has been driven by a convergence of cases of influenza, or the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to local medical professionals. “All across Northeast Ohio, including Lorain County, we’re seeing kind of what’s typical for this time of year,” said Dr. Amy Edwards, pediatric infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals. “Altogether, it always makes this time of year really,
really busy because it’s kind of when everything converges.” Emergency departments throughout Lorain County are seeing a rise in visits for coughing, fever and vomiting, according to Lorain County Public Health. Over the past week, confirmed COVID-19 cases have also increased by 28 percent, according to data from Lorain County Public Health. The rise in cases is not unusual for this time of year. However, a peak number of cases of the flu may have come later in the season this year, Edwards said. “And then all the sudden, it was like ‘wham,’” Edwards said of the rise in flu cases. “It’s coming on up, just like it should.
We’ll see it rise, usually these cycles take somewhere between six to eight weeks.” Data from the most recent Influenza Surveillance Report from Lorain County Public Health show that cases of the flu are beginning to rise. While the overall influenza positivity rate for Lorain County is considered low, the rate has risen for the three previous weekly reports. “For flu, it was lower earlier in the month, lower than what we typically see,” said Andrea Ferguson, Health Education Specialist at Lorain County Public Health. “However, in the past week or two, we’ve seen a significant jump from previous weeks.”
As of Dec. 28, wastewater viral activity levels of influenza A throughout Ohio were low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It listed similar levels of RSV in the same reporting period. However, the CDC’s model of epidemic trends shows the number of respiratory infections in Ohio is growing. “It’s possible that the flu rates will continue to rise, especially considering looking at our historic flu rates,” Ferguson said. “Usually they do rise at this time of the year. So that’s what we are foreseeing.” CDC data shows very high wastewater viral activity levels of COVID-19 in Lorain County as of Dec. 28.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses wastewater, or sewage testing data to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people don’t have symptoms. Considering the rise in respiratory cases, Edwards encouraged others to think of younger individuals, the elderly or those with suppressed immune systems. “What’s a minor cold to you could land a 2-month-old in the hospital,” Edwards said. Local medical professionals encouraged handwashing, social-distancing and vaccinations to protect the broader community.
County seeks new dog warden
Slippin’ and sledding OWEN MACMILLAN | The Community Guide
Sledders climb the hill at Cascade Park in Elyria to take another spin on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Timothy Pihlblad died Dec. 30 OWEN MACMILLAN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
Outgoing Judge James Miraldi reflects on 18 years on the bench DAVE O’BRIEN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
Jan. 3 was Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi’s last day in the office. He spent most of the day packing up the rest of his belongings, giving out hugs and gifts to those he had worked with in his 18 years on the bench. “It’s been a good run with a great staff,” the longtime judge told The Chronicle-Telegram in
an interview. Miraldi is age-limited out of office under Ohio law, and was not allowed to run again because he would have turned 75 before his next term ended. He will be eligible to be named a visiting judge by the Ohio Supreme Court after 60 days. Miraldi’s chambers behind courtroom No. 708 will become the office of Judge Giovanna Bremke, a Republican elected in November. He wished her the best in what
he said is a difficult job. At 73, Miraldi said he has learned more than a few things in his nearly 20 years on the bench: How trauma in a person’s life will lead them to make bad judgments. How everyone has to recognize each other’s humanity. How well-meaning legislation can have “a lot of unintended consequences.” And how he has seen some things as a judge, that make him say to himself: “’I can’t believe people live like that,’” he said.
It’s no wonder that police officers and first responders suffer from post-traumatic stress, Miraldi said, saying he has great respect he for law enforcement and what they do every day while also recognizing the many societal factors that caused people to end up in his courtroom. A Lorain native, Miraldi graduated from Lorain High School in 1969 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. He said he was voted MIRALDI PAGE A3
Lorain County Dog Warden Timothy Pihlblad, of Amherst, died at the age of 67 on Dec. 30, leaving the Lorain County Dog Kennel without a leader. Pihlblad, originally from Lorain, died at Mercy Regional Medical Center following a brief illness, according to his family. Lorain County Administrator Jeff Armbruster said that Pihlblad’s death was a “complete shock” to the county, which had not heard an update on Pihlblad’s condition since he took time off with an illness just before Christmas. “Tim was a very, very good dog warden,” Armbruster said. “He cared, he took care of the dogs and as far as I’m concerned he was just outstanding.” Pihlblad served as the Lorain County dog warden for over a decade, after previous jobs with U.S. Steel and the Lorain County Animal Hospital. Armbruster said that Pihlblad oversaw a number of innovations and new programs at the kennel, including a recent program that saw incarcerated individuals in the county assist at the kennel. “Tim embraced having those guys out there,” Armbruster said. “He was a bit concerned at the beginning, WARDEN PAGE A2
INSIDE THIS WEEK Giving back
New Year
Sports
Man awarded for blood donation. A3
Families skate in the ‘noon year.’ A5
Amherst alumna honored. A6
OBITS A2 • BULLETIN A7 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8