​Today, Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler made the difficult decision to postpone Bellefontaine’s Bicentennial Celebration. The event, which was planned for Saturday, August 29th, will be moved to 2021 with a date not yet determined.  Plans have been in progress for the better part of a year to prepare for this event. 

“This was a hard call to make. Many in our community were looking forward to a good old fashioned downtown block party to celebrate our proud heritage. It’s unfortunate that the coronavirus has affected so much of our daily lives, but I believe it’s best to err on the side of caution” Stahler says.  “In the end, the benefits do not outweigh the risks.”   

In recent weeks, Logan County has experienced a rise in coronavirus cases.  Just days ago, there were 71 active reported positive Covid-19 cases, up from the average of 28. There are also currently seven people are hospitalized, when two was the previous average.  According to Logan County Health Commissioner Boyd Hoddinott, our county has met indicators for new cases per capita, sustained increase in new cases, proportion of case not in a congregative setting, and increase in hospital admissions. This puts Logan County on track to become a Level 3 (Red).

Plans for the big event included: a variety of live music performances on stage, an antique car show, 12 food trucks in the downtown area, actors portraying historic figures from our past, an historic drone photo from above, a laser light show and much more.

The Mayor remains confident that, as we continue to wear masks and maintain our social distancing, Logan County can make a significant difference in combatting the spread of the virus.

In addition to the postponement of the Bicentennial events on Aug. 28-29, the DORA event has also been postponed.

As of 2:00 pm on March 11, 2020, Governor DeWine and ODH Director of Health announced that there is Community Spread of coronavirus within Ohio. This requires everyone to step up, and use multiple public health interventions to keep the spread of COVID-19 as low as possible, to protect all citizens.

Social distancing measures can reduce opportunities for person-to-person virus transmission while delaying the spread and slowing the growth of a pandemic.

Therefore, in Logan County you are advised to immediately avoid crowds, keep your distance from others, stop all forms of greeting that involve touching, wash your hands often for 20 seconds with soap and water, and cover your coughs and sneezes.

From a wider perspective, it may be necessary to cancel most gatherings, eliminate travel, look for alternative ways to work, learn and worship. This is particularly important for those over 65 who have the highest death rate from COVID-19.

The LCHD has provided the following documents to help individuals and households prepare for the coronavirus:
COVID-19 Household checklist
ODH COVID-19 Call Center Announcement
CDC Travelers card

For more updated information, please visit the Logan County Health District's website:
https://loganhealth.org/

And: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov