Northeast Ohio Cities And Counties Move To Limit COVID-19 Spread During Holidays

Add Cuyahoga County and Cleveland to the growing number of counties and cities taking the reins to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Yesterday, a news conference, county and city leaders, announced a stay-at-home advisory that went into effect immediately and will remain in effect through at least mid-December. The advisory asks people to stay at home except for work or school and the most essential of errands such as medical care and picking up food and supplies.

The move comes after Governor Mike DeWine issued his statewide overnight curfew to help turn around the current spike in cases that is severely taxing healthcare facilities and personnel. Franklin County instituted a similar measure as well as did Medina County.

In a stop in Cleveland, Governor DeWine said Ohio is "literally on fire" with the spread of COVID-19 right now.

Thanksgiving arrives a week from today. While the holiday normally would bring extended families and friends together, this year is anything but normal.  The Centers for Disease Control and infectious disease doctors urge people to re-think their large holiday plans and consider limiting those events if not outright postponing or canceling them. 

The United States has now passed a grim milestone: a quarter million people have now died as a result of the virus.  Infectious disease experts estimate that as many as 3-million people in the United States have the coronavirus and are likely contagious.

As we mentioned earlier, several counties and cities, including Cuyahoga and Cleveland have put stay-at-home advisories in place to curtail the spread of the virus which may impact holiday gatherings here.  But, despite the surge in cases, many say they will plan to celebrate the holidays with family and that includes for many travel.

What are some best practices to help navigate the holiday season? 

Infectious disease experts say Halloween gatherings helped to drive the current spike in cases and that raises concerns about Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season.  Many hospital systems report they are filling up beds and ICU space quickly and express concerns about capacity.

 Counties and cities have started to strengthen their own efforts to curb the virus.  As mentioned Cuyahoga, Medina and Franklin have new stay-at-home measures in place.  The City of Akron this week passed a ban on private gatherings limiting non-household participants to six.
 

• Anna Huntsman, Health Reporter/Producer, Ideastream
• Steven Gordon, MD, Chairman, Department of Infectious Disease, The Cleveland Clinic
• Dan Horrigan, Mayor, City of Akron
• Margo Sommerville, President, Akron City Council 
• Carlos Jones, Musician
• Peter Platten, Shifter Kin
• Melissa Platten, Shifter Kin