T-L Photo/ ROBERT A. DEFRANK Belmont County Senior Services Director Dwayne Pielech reports Wednesday on plans to reopen the county’s senior centers. He said the vulnerable senior citizen population and changing state regulations mean reopening cannot be expected soon, but he has submitted a plan to the county health department.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Senior Services officials are taking things slowly when it comes to reopening senior centers while guarding against COVID-19.

The staff has been looking at options following an announcement several weeks ago by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine that senior centers were permitted to reopen. Director Dwayne Pielech said they are proceeding with care and considering all necessary precautions.

Like many types of facilities, senior centers were closed last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, Pielech updated the Belmont County Board of Commissioners and presented the department’s plan to the Belmont County Health Department for reopening the county’s 10 senior centers. As part of the plan, officials are determining who will conduct coronavirus testing for employees. He said they will continue to work with Belmont County Deputy Health Director Robert Sproul in the coming weeks.

He added that it is an ever-changing situation and said much depends on the latest regulations from the state, particularly in the face of rising COVID-19 cases.

“It was kind of a moving target,” he said. “It’s a fluid process.”

Pielech and department officials met with about 60 area seniors to consult how to reopen. He said while the seniors were initially excited for a return of activities, most were in favor of keeping the centers closed after Pielech explained the governor’s guidelines and requirements.

“We’re not just required to test our staff that would be in whatever center reopens every two weeks. We have to test the entire department,” he said. “From an internal management standpoint, testing 67 employees like our custodian that will never set foot in a senior center, then put the cost of possibly $150 per test out there, that in itself is difficult as a manager.

“In the governor’s guidelines, if we were to reopen a center … and somebody would then come to the center and then test positive, we have to demonstrate to the state that that person didn’t get the virus at our center. … It’s a very serious matter.”

In order to reopen, Pielech and senior services employees must address issues such as stopping the spread of germs, proper use of masks and health screenings for seniors visiting the centers. He said many seniors deal with issues such as chronic coughing that mirror COVID-19 symptoms. The approach of flu season further complicates the plans.

Pielech said workers also consulted with 25 other Ohio counties, and only two of them are considering reopening their centers.

Should the senior centers not reopen in the near future, Pielech said the staff is discussing other possibilities for socialization, such as book clubs and Ohio Valley Mall-based activities for senior center members.

“People are frustrated. They want to get out. We’ve had a few seniors cry at these meetings,” Pielech said. “We have some centers that are co-located as community centers. One of the centers the other day had a kid that happened to test positive. If that center would have been opened, that would have posed a variety of issues.”

Using the common room of the senior services headquarters is not possible, since a positive coronavirus test there would shut down the department’s kitchen, which is under even more demand for service than usual.

“We can’t risk that,” he said. “Today was the highest amount of meals we ever did. It’s 1,092. It’s trending up real fast. We’re adding maybe 10 more people a week.”

Pielech said when the centers reopen, they will not be able to serve hot meals on-location and will instead offer grab-and-go meals.

Centers would be permitted to hold 50-percent capacity. Activities could include exercise programs and bingo with disposable game pieces.

“A lot of work has been put in,” Commissioner J.P. Dutton said. “Dwayne and his staff … have done an inordinate amount of work. … At the end of the day, we want to have the centers open.”

Dutton added that many seniors place value on the centers’ opportunities for socialization and companionship, but the most important services continue to be meal delivery and medical transportation.

“We don’t want anything that happens at a center to bleed into one of those core functions,” Dutton said. “The minute we can get those centers open, they’ll be open, but I don’t think we’re at that point yet.”

Pielech said his department continues to work with the Salvation Army and Mid-Ohio Food Bank to provide produce and meat to seniors.

The commissioners commended Pielech and his staff for their efforts to find innovative ways to provide services.

Meanwhile, the department has set up a Facebook page at facebook.com/Senior-Services-of-Belmont-County-101037938473634/.