Scioto County’s COVID-19 count went up again on Sunday. Two new positive tests brought the number of cases to 70, more than double the count just two weeks ago. Could the rising count put our area on red alert status? Counties that slip into the red zone are hit with mandatory masking in public spaces.
Red Alerts and Mandatory Masks
According to Scioto County EMA Director Larry Mullins, it happens on short notice. “My understanding is that the counties that have been placed in the Red Level had as little as two hours warning that it was happening. We need to do everything we can to slow the spread again so we don’t end up being ordered to wear masks in public by the state. Young and old alike need to work to slow down the spread.”
Portsmouth City Council Vice President Sean Dunne said it may not take an order from the state to put mandatory masks in place. “We are voting on a mandatory mask ordinance for Portsmouth on Monday.”
Mayor Johnson encouraged citizens to submit their questions or comments to be addressed in Council Meetings. Council meetings will be live-streamed until further notice. If you would like to communicate with Portsmouth City Council, simply email the City Clerk [email protected]. To have your questions or commits read in this upcoming meeting, they need to be received by 2:00 pm on 7-13-20.
Ohio COVID-19 Numbers
Ohio’s case count as of 7/12/2020:
- Cases – 65, 692
- Hospitalizations – 8,842
- ICU Admissions – 2,185
- Deaths – 3,058
Red Alert
Wednesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said 12 counties had triggered enough indicators to be at Red Alert Level 3. Citizens in these counties are required to wear masks in public buildings. Both Kentucky and West Virginia issued mandatory masked orders covering the entire state. A judge temporarily blocked the Kentucky order last week.
Affected Counties in Ohio are:
- Butler
- Clermont
- Cuyahoga
- Franklin
- Fairfield
- Hamilton
- Lorain
- Montgomery
- Pickaway
- Summit
- Trumbull
- Wood
Three of those counties are on the watch list, meaning they are close to reaching Level 4:
- Butler
- Cuyahoga
- Hamilton
Scioto County is at level 2.
Health Alert System
The Levels are:
- 1 Yellow – Active Exposure and Spread
- 2 Orange – Increased exposure and spread
- 3 Red – Very high exposure and spread
- 4 – Purple – Severe exposure and spread
The indicators used to determine the ranking are:
- Number of new cases based on the population of the county
- A sustained increase in cases
- Cases not coming from high-risk settings like nursing homes or jails
- Increase in ER visits for COVID symptoms
- Sustained Increase in Outpatient visits for COVID symptoms
- Increase in new COVID hospital admissions
- ICU occupancy rate goes above 80% for three days
