Summit County’s COVID-19 community risk level has fallen to “low/green” as cases, hospital bed usage and hospital admissions begin to subside from a recent rise in cases.
Need a COVID-19 shot? Summit County agency offers drive-thru, walk-in and pop-up clinics
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has three levels: low/green, medium/yellow and high/red.
Two weeks ago, Summit County and neighboring counties Medina, Portage and Stark were at “medium/yellow” while Wayne County was at low. All five counties in the Akron region are now low/green.
Much of the state of Ohio is categorized as low/green, though pockets of northern Ohio, including Cuyahoga County, northwestern Ohio, southern Ohio and southeastern Ohio are yellow/medium. Some had been red/high levels in recent weeks.
The CDC levels are a tool to help communities decide what preventive steps to take, according to Summit County Public Health, which issued a press release this week about the change in level.
Summit County’s weekly metrics used to determine the designation of low COVID-19 Community Level include:
- A case rate per 100,000 population of 152.49, down from 228.65
- New COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population of 9.9.
- The percentage of staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19 is at 4.3%.
Recommendations based on the current level for Summit County residents include:
- Stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Test if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
- Wear a mask if you have been exposure to someone with COVID-19.
- Stay home if you are sick.
- You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.
The CDC also has a quarantine and isolation calculator that can be used to determine steps to take after an exposure or a positive COVID test. It can be found at https://tinyurl.com/bddd2uxx
Summit County Public Health offers a walk-in clinic for vaccinations and is holding another drive-thru clinic on July 19 at 1867 W. Market St. in West Akron.
For more information, visit https://www.scph.org/covid/vaccine
Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher
