Local COVID risk level raised

SANDUSKY — The CDC has raised the COVID-19 risk level for Erie, Ottawa, Huron and Sandusky counties, which are all now rated "medium" in their levels of virus transmission. The CDC rates each county in the U.S. as either high, medium or low in COVID-19 transmission. The counties of Lorain Cuyahoga and Wood currently are all rated high by the CDC, and northern Ohio generally has a higher transmission rate than most of Ohio. Most of the state's counties remain rated at low risk. On May 18, 87 of Ohio's 88 counties were rated low by the CDC. On Friday, 23 of Ohio's counties were rated medium or high. The CDC states, that in counties with a medium rate of risk, people who are at a severe risk of illness should talk to their health care providers about wearing masks and taking other precautions. Everyone should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if they have symptoms, the agency stresses. People in high-risk counties should take the same steps but also should resume wearing masks indoors when away from home, the CDC says. The Erie County Health Department stopped its weekly press releases when the last local COVID-19 surge waned but promised to renew them if conditions worsen. On Friday, the health department's infectious disease nurse, Ashley Franks, said the department will resume sending out weekly COVID-19 reports if the CDC raises Erie County's community level to high. In the meantime, the department continues to post weekly reports at its COVID-19 website, coviderieohio.com. The latest report, dated May 23, says that during the week of May 8-14, there were seven hospitalizations and 162 positive COVID-19 tests. The next report will be posted Tuesday, said Taylor Kula, epidemiologist for the Erie County Health Department. Huron County Public Health has continued emailing out weekly reports. The latest report, issued Friday, states that during the week of May 27 through June 2, there were 60 cases reported, a slight decrease from the 67 cases reported during the previous week. The highest infection rate was reported in the Wakeman area. Ohio's official COVID-19 reporting site shows that 753 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide as of Thursday, little changed over the past couple of weeks. While significant, that remains low compared to the more than 6,700 people hospitalized for the virus on Jan. 11, when hospital numbers in Ohio hit a peak. Hospitalizations are considered a more reliable indicator of the COVID-19 situation than raw numbers. Many recent illnesses aren't reported to health agencies because home tests have become much more common and many such results likely aren't reported publicly.