![The pandemic is raging in Cuyahoga County. That makes New Year's Eve celebrations risky, county officials say.[Shutterstock / lazyllama]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6d810ea/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F12%2F30%2Fshutterstock_240163873.jpg)
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish is asking Northeast Ohioans to avoid big crowds this New Year’s Eve and to wear a mask if they go out.
Budish, along with Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner Terry Allan, made the appeal in a media release Thursday, describing the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuyahoga County in dire terms.
The county is facing the rise of the omicron variant in addition to a surge in cases caused by the delta variant. At the same time, cases of the flu are also increasing, creating a triple threat, wrote Allan, adding that the number of cases in Cuyahoga County has reached “historic highs” and are “off the charts.”
Over the past seven days, the case rate countywide has been 17 times the U.S. Centers for Disease Control threshold for high transmission, he wrote. The rate of positive COVID-19 tests has reached 35%.
“We’re sounding the alarm, urging our community to take every precaution to prevent further transmission that could pile on to our hospitals systems, which are already bursting at the seams,” he said.
Chances are good that those who go out will be exposed to the virus spreading it further
“Unvaccinated and unmasked means that you will be exposed to the virus in the coming days. Gathering with large groups of people for New Year’s celebrations only compounds these formidable risks. We are urging you to avoid these large gatherings, get vaccinated, get boosted and mask up to protect the ones you love,” Allan wrote.
The number of COVID-19 infections has been surging across the state in recent weeks with 19,774 new cases reported within the last 24 hours alone, according to the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard.
Cuyahoga County has been especially hard hit. The county leads the state in all categories with nearly 220,000 cases, 11,000 hospitalizations, and 2,800 deaths to date, according to the release.
About 60% of the county is currently vaccinated, which leaves almost 500,000 Cuyahoga County residents vulnerable to serious health effects from the virus, the release said. About 43% of those who have been vaccinated have gotten an additional or booster dose. Only about 24% of children ages 5 to 11 have started vaccination.
