![The CDC says that Cuyahoga County has a medium level of COVID-19 transmission. [Stephanie Czekalinski / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a375697/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1433x853+0+0/resize/840x500!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2022%2F03%2F1084052543_185598943.png)
COVID-19 positivity rates are so low in Cuyahoga County that the mask mandate in county buildings is being lifted, officials announced Wednesday at a news briefing.
The share of people who test positive for COVID-19 in the county has fallen to 3%, according to Dr. Heidi Gullett, medical director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
At the end of December and the beginning of January, the percent of people who tested positive for the virus reached 36.4% countywide, according to health department figures. Since then the share of positive tests has been steadily dropping.
The precipitous drop in the percent positive is only one of several improving metrics that have left health officials “thrilled,” Gullett said.
Hospitalizations are also down, allowing a return to the kind of medical care suspended because of the omicron surge, she said.
“COVID is not going away,” Gullet said. “But we certainly see that we’re moving out of this very difficult time.”
She also reminded the public that while the numbers are moving in the right direction, there are still many good reasons to take precautions to stem the spread of the virus.
“We want to have our lives back," Gullett said. “But we still have to remain vigilant, particularly because we have a low level who have gotten the booster and about a third who haven’t been vaccinated.”
About 68% of county residents ages 5 and older have been fully vaccinated; about a third have received a booster dose, according to Gullett.
“We need to take care of them,” she said. “It is still perfectly acceptable to wear a mask.”
Individuals should take into consideration any health conditions that might put them at greater risk of complications from the virus or whether loved ones are more likely to suffer serious illness when deciding whether to wear masks.
Cuyahoga County is now considered to have a medium level of spread, according to the CDC's community COVID-19 measure.
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