ST. CLAIRSVILLE — In his report to the Belmont County Commissioners, Deputy Health Director Robert Sproul said Wednesday that the county’s total number of positive COVID-19 cases is 92, counting five new reports Wednesday and two received later Tuesday.

However, the majority of new cases are in contained facilities.

There remain 21 people who have recovered and left quarantine, with some additional recoveries expected soon. Four people are hospitalized, and seven people with underlying conditions have died since the pandemic began.

“Thirty-eight of the last 42 have come from the prison or health care system,” Sproul said.

He said the state has not yet put the exact numbers from nursing homes online, but the latest figures at coronavirus.ohio.gov put positive cases at Belmont Correctional Institution, located along Ohio 331 west of St. Clairsville, at 27 with 29 inmates in isolation.

“Statewide, we’ve got 3,762 (infected inmates) as of (Tuesday),” he said.

Sproul said when nursing home numbers are made available, it will be on a countywide basis, not by individual facility.

“Right now (in Belmont County) I think it’s two nursing homes and a care facility,” he said.

Commissioner Jerry Echemann asked about conditions in the prisons. Sproul said the large bunk-filled buildings for multiple inmates might facilitate the spread of a virus.

After the meeting, Commissioner J.P. Dutton said the board is not in direct communication with the state about prison system.

Sproul said the state is taking the lead on responding to coronavirus cases in Ohio’s prisons, but his department is working with area nursing homes on their response.

“We’re speaking with them and working with them on how to try to reduce the numbers and quarantine the people who need quarantined and test the people who need tested,” he said. “They’re cleaning, watching their staff, monitoring their staff. Trying to put the quarantined people … in different wings. They actually have different wings of the nursing homes so they can separate them from the other population. … They have to do extra cleaning, because they all get fed from the same kitchens. They’ve got to take those extra measures.”

Sproul said in these confined settings it is easier to find and test a positive person’s likely contacts, which probably explains the recent jumps in numbers.

“There’s a lot more testing going on. Not as much as it needs to be, but we have increased testing,” he said. “As soon as they can get it under control (new cases) should slow down.”

Sproul said the state and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new reagent for testing. He said the reagent is used to preserve swabbings for the laboratories.

“Hopefully that will help increase our testing numbers,” he said. “That allows them more options.”

He said no area hospitals are currently experiencing a surge.

In answer to a question from Commissioner Josh Meyer, Sproul said a large number of infected residents are recovering and many in quarantine are doing well.

Sproul said his department is also working with businesses to properly reopen when the state’s stay-at-home order expires May 1. The health department is tasked with enforcing the state’s orders on these businesses.

“It will be modified. They’re going to do a phasing-in. They’re not going to basically open the doors back up again on May 1. They’re going to slowly, incrementally open things up … so we don’t get another spike,” he said. “We don’t want to go backwards when we reopen.”

Sproul said restaurants may not be in the first phase of reopenings.