SIDNEY — While Shelby County’s positive COVID-19 cases have slowed, neighboring Mercer County saw a spike in their reported cases Thursday. The Mercer County Health District reported 18 new cases, bringing the county’s cases up to 59.

On the MCHD Favebook page, they report the new cases inlude: reports the 42nd case is a hospitalized woman in the age range of 50-60 years. The 43rd case is a man in the age range of 80-90 years and is self-isolating at home. The 44th case is a woman in the age range of 20-30 years and is self-isolating at home. The 45th case is a man in the age range of 30-40 years and is self-isolating at home. The 46th case is a woman in the age range of 40-50 years and is self-isolating at home. The 47th case is man in the age range of 20-30 years and is self-isolating at home. The 48th case is a man in the age range of 60-70 years and is self-isolating at home. The 49th case is a woman in the age range of 50-60 years and is self-isolating at home. The 50th case is a man in the age range of 50-60 years and is self-isolating at home. The 51st case is a woman in the age range of 20-30 years and is self-isolating at home. The 52nd case is a woman in the age range of 40-50 years and is self-isolating at home. The 53rd case is a man in the age range of 20-30 years of age and is self-isolating at home. The 54th case is man in the age of 30-40 years of age and is self-isolating at home. The 55th case is a woman in the age range of 30-40 years and is self-isolating at home. The 56th case is a man in the age range of 30-40 years and is self-isolating at home. The 57th case is a woman in the age range of 30-40 years and is self-isolating at home. The 58th case is a hospitalized woman in the age range of 50-60 years. The 59th case is woman in the age range of 60-70 years and is self-isolating at home.

“Over the past 24 hours, Mercer County has seen a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases. MCHD urges residents to continue to take precautions to protect themselves against COVID-19. People can protect themselves by washing their hands often, using hand sanitizer, covering their mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. This also includes maintaining social distancing, eliminating gatherings of more than ten people, abiding by current restrictions on businesses, and wearing a mask or face covering,” the Facebook posting read..

“MCHD Is currently investigating the increased cases to determine whether there are any patterns of common exposures. The identification of patterns will become easier as the amount of available data grows. We hope to be able to release more detailed information soon,” the statement concluded.

Shelby County’s status hasn’t changed since Thursday. there are still 31 positive cases in the county. The 31st positive COVID-19 case has been reported by the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department.

According to the information posted by the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department during its daily update, there have been 31 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county. Twenty-five people have recovered, five have not, and a man in his 80s has died. Three Shelby County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19.

Health care workers and first responders account for 26% of the positive tests in Shelby County.

The positive cases in Shelby County by age include two women in their 20s; one man and two women in their 30s; three men and four women in their 40s; three men and three women in their 50s; three men and five women in their 60s; one man and one woman in their 70s; and one man and two women in their 80s.

Auglaize County has 42 positive cases, with eight hospitalizations, 19 people who have recovered and three deaths. Of the 36 cases, 28 are women and eight are men.

In Miami County, there are 176 positive cases with 49 hospitalizations. There have been 27 deaths in the county.

In Darke County, 82 positive cases have been recorded with 14 hospitalizations. There have been 14 deaths in the county.

Logan County has 23 positive cases with four hospitalizations.

During Friday’s update, it was announced Ohio has 23,016 positive cases of COVID-19 with cases in all of the state’s 88 counties. Of those cases, 4,218 have been hospitalized with 1,188 admitted to the ICU. There have been 1,306 deaths related to COVID-19 in Ohio.