Cuyahoga County Hits New Daily Record Of COVID-19 Cases

Cuyahoga County reported 750 new coronavirus cases Friday, which is a new daily high for the county. That number does not include Cleveland, which reports separately.

There have been more than 3,000 new cases in the county this week, bringing the total number to nearly 20,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

“For each case there are 2-3 contacts,” County Health Commissioner Terry Allan said. “So these are very, very big numbers, and this is serious business.”

There have also been 34 COVID-19 deaths this week and over 60 deaths this month.

The highest number of cases is within the 20-29 age range.

Allan said the predictive models indicate the county may reach 1,000-2,000 cases per day in the coming weeks if the trends continue.

Hospitals are concerned about bed capacity and staff shortages as health care workers get sick or exposed to COVID-19 and have to quarantine.

Hospital utilization in the county is at 81 percent for critical care beds, but  Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said 1,000 workers are out sick at the Cleveland Clinic.

“When you have 1,000 people out, how do you make that up?” Budish said. “And right now, it looks like it's getting worse and worse and you can't build a temporary facility if you don't have enough staff to staff your own facilities.”

The rapid spike in testing has made it difficult for the Cleveland Department of Health to analyze the data quickly, and it’s made it difficult for contact tracers in the county and the state.

Medical Director Dr. Heidi Gullett said people with positive tests should quarantine and also isolate from others at home.

“Given 1,300 cases on two days alone, we're not able to call you and give you this information as quickly as we can,” Gullett said. “So, we'd ask that you do that without hearing from us.”

The county is currently under a stay-at-home advisory, and public health officials warn against holiday gatherings and anything other than essential travel.