CLEVELAND — One of Ohio’s most populated counties joins the state in seeing a record number of COVID-19 cases.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Leaders are now saying that there needs to be a change because the situation is on the verge of spinning out of control

  • Friday was the first time the Board of Health received more than 500 cases in a single day

  • The warning comes as the state continues to break records for its daily COVID-19 case numbers


“I know we’re all tired, but the virus doesn’t really care how tired we are, or how hard this is. It just wants to keep spreading, and it’s spreading fast,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish.

Budish made it clear that now is not the time to let your guard down when fighting COVID. The County Health Commissioner Terry Alan shared some tough numbers. 

“Here in Cuyahoga County, we are now in a very slippery slope. (Thursday), our call centers surpassed 23,000 calls from the public since the beginning of this pandemic. Call center volume has more than tripled over the last week with staff taking almost 300 calls from the public.”

Dr. Johnie Rose of Case Western Reserve University shared a graph, showing dangerous projections of up to 1,000 cases a day, and over 2,000 cases a day by the end of November if the virus cases keep on the current path. 

“This is not a sustainable level of cases. No healthcare system in the world can absorb this.” 

Leaders recommend not having Thanksgiving gatherings with people outside of your household this year, and say to avoid further lockdowns, follow social distancing rules and not only wear a mask, but wear it the right way.

“You can see the pictures, people often don’t wear masks, and even when they do, you see them wearing a mask like this. You know, that’s not wearing a mask, that’s not helpful. You got to cover the mouth and the nose. You got to wear it right or else you’re still exposing yourself and others.”

 

The warning comes as Ohio once again shattered its record of daily cases Friday: 8,071. It's the first time the state has surpassed 8,000 cases within 24 hours. 

Earlier this week, Gov. Mike DeWine issued new mask orders for businesses, and said orders for bars, restaurants and bars could come next week if cases continue to climb. Hospitalizations are also reaching record highs, and DeWine said doctors are exhausted an overworked. Earlier this week, the Cleveland Clinic reported nearly 300 workers have fallen ill from the virus.