Did Franklin County reach a Level 4 COVID-19 level?

Gov. Mike DeWine held his weekly COVID-19 alert map update today. While three counties were taken off the Level 4 watchlist, 19 counties were considered Level 3, and Athens County was put on the Level 4 watchlist. 

Although Franklin County wasn’t downgraded from its Level 3 alert, DeWine brought up the uptick in cases in comparison to the 21-day average.

As a state, Ohio reported 1,290 cases in the past 24 hours (compared to a 21-day average of 1,093, 28 deaths (compared to the 21-day average of 16), 115 hospitalizations (compared to a 21-day average of 87), and 21 people admitted to ICU (compared to a 21-day average of 18.) The numbers are down, though, as Ohio reported a record high in daily cases with 1,525 this past Friday. 

Delaware, Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway, Union counties, all surrounding Franklin County, were all listed at alert Level 3. While explaining the alert map in previous weeks, DeWine mentioned that a county can’t improve on its category unless it sees a decline for two consecutive reporting periods. 

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After Thursday’s update, DeWine said that 60 percent of Ohioans would be required to follow the mask mandate.

Before DeWine outlined the updated map, he welcomed Dr. Andrew Thomas—the chief clinical officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center—who broke down the metrics that determine what alert level a county is listed at. The alert levels are meant to determine where the virus is going in the community, according to Thomas. 

The leading indicators for determining an alert level includes new cases per capita (per 100,000 citizens), looking at five-day trends, and looking closely at congregate settings with communities. 

No counties are colored green due to the fact that no matter what county you live in, people are at risk of contracting COVID-19 until a vaccine or pharmacological medical treatment is discovered. Therefore, all counties start in yellow. Counties with two to three indicators are colored orange; four to five indicators are colored red; and six or seven are colored purple. No counties have been colored purple yet.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted also spoke about the importance of PPE equipment and what the state is doing to make sure that supplies and money for those supplies are readily available. 

For more information about COVID, visit the state’s official site here.

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