ST. CLAIRSVILLE — After a summer of spikes, Belmont County’s COVID-19 case count held steady last weekend, increasing by three new cases Sunday but recording a decrease Monday.

The number of positive test results since March declined from 708 total cases to 707 on Monday, with 51 people actively testing positive and in quarantine at home.

Belmont County Deputy Health Director Robert Sproul reported one of the positives is a college student at Ohio State University in Columbus, and the state health department is using that location to assign numbers.

“The initial address was ours, but they used his college address,” Sproul said. “That’s why we lost that one. … We heard he had a local address, we started the contract tracing. … We stopped our investigation because now it’s theirs. … That’ll be Columbus or Franklin County, depending on where he’s living up there.”

Other county numbers remain the same, with five people hospitalized with the virus and 25 residents who have died while infected. The deaths include nine inmates at Belmont Correctional Institution, which was designated a “hot spot” of infections during the early and mid summer. Members of the Ohio National Guard and the Ohio State Highway Patrol assisted at the prison due to high numbers of staff members being infected along with inmates.

Sproul is keeping a close eye on coronavirus infection numbers as Belmont County schools are in the process of reopening, with the majority beginning at full, in-person attendance while many parents opt for an online or distance-learning option.

On Monday, Martins Ferry City School District launched its first day of full classes, with students reporting to school in masks and face coverings at all grade levels.

“Everything’s been fairly quiet, which is good,” Sproul said. “So far it’s been going well from what we can hear. No one’s really had any big complaints yet. It seems like it’s working.”

Meanwhile, normal flu season is also a factor in the coming months.

“They’ll probably do what they did last spring when they did the flu test and the COVID test, so they would rule out the flu before they give you the COVID test,” he said. “Hopefully with all the sanitizing, the social distancing and the masks, that will keep the numbers of flu down also. … All the things we’re doing for COVID will also transfer over to the prevention of the flu.”

High school sports also have kicked off, and student-athletes are reportedly playing well under state mandates. They are being cheered on mainly by immediate family members, since seating was reduced to 15 percent capacity by state orders.

“It sounds like people wore the masks and did the social distancing at the events,” Sproul said. “We haven’t received any complaints by any of the public.”

In one case, however, Barnesville Athletic Director Brad Hannahs took to social media to urge spectators to follow the rules. He posted that masks are required in the stadium throughout the duration of a game and should not be taken off once fans are seated. He worried that the season would not be completed if spectators do not follow OHSAA guidelines.

Several responses to the post indicated that fans at other area high school games Friday night and Saturday did do a good job of complying with state mandates.

Meanwhile, Sproul continues to work with the Ohio National Guard and local agencies toward the possibility of setting up COVID-19 testing sites in Belmont County.

“We’re still in the preliminary stages with that. We spoke with some of the groups, and the National Guard wants to look at some of the sites before we finalize on dates and places,” Sproul said.