By Debbie Hall
A confirmed case of COVID-19 in Patrick County was incorrectly reported, according to health officials.
Steve Allen, Emergency Services Coordinator, said the information on the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH’s) website posted on Tuesday, April 21 is incorrect.
Allen included the text of an email he received from Sharon Ortiz-Garcia, West Piedmont Health District Epidemiologist, which stated “the information for Patrick County is incorrect. It was a data entry error by another health district”.
Allen also noted that an email he received from Jeanette Losee, VDH Public Health Emergency Coordinator, stated that the VDH website “is changing how they are reporting cases. They are now going to be reporting ‘probable’ cases on the site, not only the confirmed positive cases. This has created some confusion as there was very little notice or explanation of the change. At this time, there are no confirmed cases in Patrick County.”
In an email, Nancy Bell, public information officer for the West Piedmont Health District, stated that “the case reported in Patrick County (reported) today is a data entry mistake. Our epidemiologist has reached out to VDH, and the number should be corrected within the next several days”
To date, there are no confirmed cases of the virus in Patrick County.
