Geauga Public Health issued a press release July 10 strongly encouraging Geauga County residents to wear a mask whenever they are in the presence of others outside of their own households, after the county was moved to level two on the state’s Public Health Advisory System.
Geauga Public Health issued a press release July 10 strongly encouraging Geauga County residents to wear a mask whenever they are in the presence of others outside of their own households, after the county was moved to level two on the state’s Public Health Advisory System.
The call for action is not a local public health order, nor is it a state mandate, Geauga County Health Commissioner Tom Quade said. However, a level three rating would carry with it a state-mandated mask requirement.
Both Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties, which border Geauga, are at level three.
“It is far better for the public to understand the value of prevention and to make the decision on their own to protect one another than to rely on the government to step in and attempt to order common sense, mutual respect and simple human compassion for other people with whom we share our space,” Quade said. “When people make personal decisions which put the health and safety of the general public in jeopardy, we do have a responsibility to act. That is why health departments exist.”
Geauga County was raised to level two on July 9, due to two indicators, Quade said in a GPH Facebook post.
The county was flagged for having over 50 percent of cases not in a congregate setting — such as a long-term care facility or prison — in at least one of the previous three weeks, indicating a greater risk of community spread.
The second indicator flagged was in response to an increase in the number of people going to a health care provider with COVID symptoms who then receive a COVID confirmed or suspected diagnosis. Quade said this indicator provides information on the health care seeking behavior of the population and a sense of how concerned residents are about their current health status and the virus.
Quade also encouraged Geauga County businesses to consider requiring customers to wear masks, especially in and around Middlefield, where the recent community spread is higher.
Responses to a GPH community input survey for the month of June showed respondents were more likely to do business elsewhere after seeing low rates of mask use in retail and grocery stores, restaurants and bars.
“Masks are good for the public’s health,” Quade said. “They may also be good for business.”
As of July 10, a spreadsheet available from the state coronavirus dashboard showed Geauga County with a cumulative total of 425 cases, 86 hospitalizations and 43 deaths due to the virus. In his press release, Quade called for sustained efforts from the public to prevent the increases of cases and hospitalizations occurring in neighboring counties.
He said he has been working closely with school administrators throughout the county on plans for students to return to schools while minimizing the risk of transmission.
One way to minimize that risk, he said, is for the community to work to reduce the overall number of cases in the general population.
Quade said the community is balancing individual freedoms and the community’s wellbeing.
“It is like minding our speed when driving in school zones. It is inconvenient when we are in a rush, but we have a civil, as well as legal, obligation to protect the children,” he said. “We don’t simply tell them to stay home if they’re afraid to cross the street when we’re driving through.”
