Cuyahoga County taken off coronavirus watch list,’ but more Ohio counties put on red-alert for the virus – cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, OhioCuyahoga County and two southwest Ohio counties have been taken off the states watch list for the highest coronavirus alert status, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday.

However, all three of those counties, as well as 19 counties in total, are now on red-alert for coronavirus, meaning that about 60% of Ohio residents are now required to wear masks in indoor public places and when riding public transportation.

Speaking during a televised briefing, DeWine said that even though Cuyahoga County is no longer on the cusp of reaching purple status, the county is still at a critical stage, averaging 179 new cases per day up 49 additional cases per day since June 23.

The reason Cuyahoga was downgraded was because hospital admissions have not been increasing at the rate they have in the past weeks, according to DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney. However, the governor said during his briefing that the county is very close to meeting the threshold for new hospital admissions -- one of the factors that determine each countys threat level.

Some new cases in Cuyahoga are being driven by out-of-town travel and recreational activities, the governor said. Its critical the residents of Cuyahoga County remain vigilant and do all they can to reduce their risk and exposure to the coronavirus, he said.

Butler and Hamilton counties were also removed from the purple watch list, though like Cuyahoga they remain on red alert. Only one red-level county was downgraded: Trumbull County, which fell to orange, the second-lowest of the four alert levels.

Eight other counties have been elevated to red-alert status for the first time: Allen, Athens, Delaware, Licking, Lucas, Richland, Scioto, and Union counties, DeWine said. Athens County is now the only Ohio county on the purple alert watch list, the governor said.

Outbreaks at bars in the college town of Athens have resulted in the Southeast Ohio county logging more coronavirus cases during the last two weeks than the rest of the pandemic combined, he said.

The governor has said there is community spread of COVID-19 in all of Ohios 88 counties. Each countys color designation is determined by monitoring seven different data indicators, including recent increases in community spread, doctors visits, hospitalizations, and ICU visits, among other factors.

Counties are designated red if they trigger 4-5 of those metrics; counties that have six or all seven of the factors are designated purple.

Besides the mask requirement for both red and purple counties, the DeWine administration largely leaves it up to individual Ohioans to determine for themselves what the difference is between red and purple levels. In red counties, residents are encouraged to consider necessary travel and limit attending gatherings of any number. In counties under the purple, or Level 4, counties, people are advised to limit themselves to necessary travel and only leave home for supplies and services.

During a statewide address on Wednesday, DeWine urged all Ohioans to take immediate action to slow the spread of the virus, including wearing masks while in public. But he also didnt announce any new health orders, saying that discussion is for another time.

Dr. Andrew Thomas, chief clinical officer at Ohio State University Medical Center, said during DeWines Thursday briefing that the color-coded system is meant to be an alert in the same way a weather forecast is.

This is not a grade. This is a warning system, he said.

DeWine

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