Dayton man succumbs to coronavirus

DAYTON–An unidentified Dayton individual has died due to the COVID-19 virus on August 1, 2020, Martha Lanman, administrator of Columbia County Public Health announced Monday, August 3.

The victim was a male over 50, Lanman said, who succumbed in the Holy Family Hospital in Spokane. Lanman did not have further details such as where or when he contracted the virus, other than to provide a gender, an age range and place of death. Due to the small number of residents in the county, information released by Lanman categorizes people diagnosed as positive either above or below 50 years of age, to protect the individual’s identity.

The individual was tested and confirmed at the Columbia County Health System, according to Shane McGuire, CEO of CCHS, and then transferred to the Spokane hospital.

“Having a death in Columbia County this early on, I guess is kind of hard,” Lanman said in an Economic Development Steering Committee meeting Tuesday. “It’s hard for us in Public Health. It just makes us more aware of what we need to do to help all of us in our community stay safe.

To date, Columbia County Public Health Department has identified 14 people who have tested positive for coronavirus, Lanman said, three new cases within the past six days. Twelve have recovered and there is one current positive recovering at home. There have been 385 tested negative

“The new cases are not related, and that’s good news for Public Health,” she said. “We’re seeing most of them come from contact with somebody from out of county.”

The Public Health Department has received a shipment of masks that is available for businesses to offer patrons at their door, or anyone in need of masks. There is also hand sanitizer available.