The state health department reported 1,525 new cases of COVID-19 Friday. And in Cuyahoga County, the board of health noticed a change in the age of people contracting the cornavirus that causes the disease.
One in five people who tested positive in Cuyahoga County were between the ages of 20 and 29, and the median age of COVID-19 patients dropped to 44 years old. Health Commissioner Terry Allan is concerned by this trend.
“This younger trend of people then coming into contact with those that are fragile could increase hospitalizations and ICU bed utilization, and there's a lag of several weeks that often occurs before we start to see this utilization,” he said.
County Medical Director Dr. Heidi Gullett said the county saw a nearly 9 percent increase this week in positive tests despite a decrease in testing. And as of Friday morning, the county’s ICU admissions rose above the state threshold.
The Cuyahoga County is on the watch list to be elevated to a Level 4 public emergency. County officials are urging people who’ve been sick to get tested and limit their exposure to others.
