CINCINNATI — As Cincinnati prepares for a busy weekend downtown, local health officials are reminding residents and visitors of the importance of wearing a mask to protect against a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Hamilton County.

On Friday, Hamilton County Public Health alerted the public that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have classified Hamilton County as having “high” COVID-19 community spread.

The CDC looked at the combination of three metrics to determine the COVID-19 community level:

• New COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days
• The percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients
• The total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.

Because of the new CDC rating, Hamilton County Public Health has issued a series of recommendations, including wearing a well-fitting mask indoors in public and on public transportation.

They also stressed the importance of getting testing for COVID, getting up to date on vaccinations and staying home if you’re not feeling well.

“The big change with the classification to us is that the CDC is recommending that when you’re in indoor public locations that you start wearing your mask again,” said Greg Kesterman, Hamilton County’s health commissioner.

“If you wake up tomorrow and have the sniffles or a cough, that’s new, we ask that you not dismiss it,” he added. “Be aware that you might have COVID-19 or another respiratory issue, and stay at home so you’re not making others sick.”

Hamilton is one of more than 40 counties in Ohio to reach the “high” transmission level.

As of Friday morning, there were about 200 individuals in the regional hospital system with COVID-19. Kesterman said. There are about 25 COVID patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across the network.

To put that into historic perspective, last January and February, when the omicron variant first moved through greater Cincinnati, the county had as many as 1,000 hospitalizations and 250 individuals in the system’s ICUs.

Those numbers might not seem high, but they show spread is on the rise, said Dr. Dustin Calhoun, director of Emergency Management at UC Health. He's also an associate professor of emergency medicine at the UC College of Medicine. 

Calhoun called the heightened level “fairly inevitable” having seen the data trend upward in recent weeks. 

Hamilton County had been at the “low” (or “green”) level for a while, Calhoun said. That’s when restrictions started to lift and the pressure to mask and social distance naturally fell off. But case numbers have crept steadily upwards in recent weeks, with Hamilton county moving to "medium" (or "yellow") spread just last week.

“Seeing it fairly rapidly progress through the 'yellow' and up into the 'high' was certainly concerning,” said Calhoun, who worked on several regional efforts to combat the spread of COVID, including testing and vaccination. 

Despite COVID deaths still being in the “realm of some of the worst weeks of flu that we have each year,” Calhoun said, he feels people have developed “virus complacency.”

Numbers aren’t being reported as much, Calhoun said. People aren’t being tested, or they’re testing at home and not reporting the data. He thinks this CDC warning is powerful because it’s based on numbers reported by healthcare providers.

“We’ve all been dealing with the pandemic for quite a while, so people have a heightened bar as far as how bad things need to be to be concerned about them,” Calhoun said. “So, the positive that comes out of reaching this threshold is we’re getting back to recommendations for indoor masking.”

On Friday, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners announced it would require employees and visitors to wear a mask inside county-owned buildings. The move is for everyone, regardless of their vaccination status.

Beyond that, board employees will now need to wear masks in the field while in contact with coworkers, customers, clients and residents.

Both policy updates go into effect Monday, July 25.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval told Spectrum News that the city will continue to "monitor the situation to determine any necessary policy updates.”

“As COVID-19 infection and hospital rates rise, we must continue to be vigilant and exercise good judgment and precautions – like vaccinations, boosters, and mask-wearing, particularly if you are inside and cannot socially distance," he said.

As of Friday afternoon, neither the city of Cincinnati nor any local city government made an announcement about mask mandates or other COVID-related changes as of Friday afternoon. But the county health department did offer guidance to residents.

Health officials advised those at high risk for severe illness to consider taking additional precautions, such as social distancing. If possible, they advised those at risk to speak with their doctor to come up with a plan that works best for them.

The news of the updated CDC rating comes as Cincinnati and Hamilton County are in the middle of one of the biggest tourism weeks of the year. 

Hundreds of visitors are in town for Black Tech Week, FC Cincinnati hosts Nashville SC on Saturday and the Cincinnati Reds kickoff a 10-game homestand Friday night with the start of a weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals, who have a fanbase that travels well.

Probably the biggest event is the Cincinnati Music Festival, which kicked off Thursday night. Tens of thousands of people are reportedly in town for three days of concerts, art shows and food events.

Most of those events are outdoors, though. That’s a good thing, according to both Kesterman and Calhoun.

While it’s possible to spread COVID-19 while outside, the risk is much lower, Kesterman said. His department hasn’t noticed a considerable link to the spread of COVID and outdoor gatherings, even bigger events like the Taste of Cincinnati.

Organizers of the Cincinnati Music Festival plan to “follow (Hamilton County Health’s) lead and recommendations” for COVID protections over the course of the weekend.

“If you’re going to an outdoor event, and if you’re most comfortable wearing a mask, we certainly recommend that you do so,” Kesterman said. “Unless you’re not feeling well, we’re saying it’s OK to go and enjoy the event.”

Residents can find more information about testing sites and at-home kits on the "Test and Protect Cincy" website.