Fayette County Public Health (FCPH) reported the fifth COVID-19 related death — a female in her 80s — in the county on Friday.

“We ask that you respect the privacy of her family and refrain from making negative comments as this family mourns their loss,” read a statement from FCPH. “This has been a difficult week for many in our community and we appreciate your support in being respectful to everyone involved.”

No additional information will be released about the patient, according to FCPH.

Five deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in Fayette County since Friday, Aug. 21. The three individuals who were first announced by FCPH were residents at St Catherine’s Manor of Washington C.H. They were in their 70s — two females and one male.

As previously reported, as of Tuesday, 11 St. Catherine’s residents and three employees had tested positive for COVID-19. All are laboratory-confirmed cases.

Staff at FCPH received the first report of a positive antibody test for an individual in Fayette County. Positive antibody tests are classified as “probable cases” by the CDC. These tests indicate a past infection, so this case is not reflected in the active cases.

Seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were also reported by FCPH Friday, as well as four new recovered cases. As of Friday, there were 32 active cases in Fayette County.

FCPH is working with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to conduct contact tracing to determine if any of the close contacts of these individuals are sick. All of these close contacts are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days and monitor themselves for symptoms of fever, cough, or shortness of breath. FCPH is highly committed to maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality. If you are not contacted, you did not have close extended contact with the cases.

Fayette County remains orange (Level 2) per the Ohio COVID-19 risk level guidelines, which indicates there is increased exposure and spread.

Reach Ryan Carter at 740-313-0352.