HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — County officials created a hotline residents and business owners can call to donate personal protective equipment to workers on the frontline of the pandemic.
Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency officials have distributed PPE from the national stockpile to nine hospitals and 35 of the 38 police and fire departments in the county, Commissioner Denise Driehaus said on Wednesday.
Any county resident who has PPE — N95 masks, surgical masks, homemade masks or hand sanitizer — can call Hamilton County EMA at 513-263-8200.
The purpose of the hotline is so EMA officials can distribute PPE to frontline workers; officials will not distribute PPE to individuals, Driehaus said. (The Centers for Disease Control recommends people wear homemade masks in public and reserve other masks for people on the frontline.) Essential businesses who want to request PPE can also call the hotline.
As of Wednesday, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 doubled from one week ago, Driehaus said.
In Hamilton County, there are:
- 576 people with COVID-19
- 134 people hospitalized
- 24 deaths
- 107 people recovered from COVID-19
“These numbers show that we can’t get ahead of ourselves,” Driehaus said, noting a recent push to reopen businesses.
Driehaus said the county received supplies through purchases, donations and the national stockpile, and 107 public and private organizations have received PPE.
PPE has been distributed to:
- Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services
- Hamilton County Communications Center
- Hamilton County Job & Family Services
- Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- Hamilton County Juvenile Court
- Long-term care facilities/nursing homes
Habitat for Humanity and dentists across the county donated a substantial amount of PPE, Driehaus said.
