CLEVELAND — Masks will be required in all Cuyahoga County government buildings beginning Aug. 1 amid the increased spread of COVID-19.
The mandate applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status, the county wrote in a press release.
Visitors and employees must wear masks in any county-owned building, keep a six-feet distance from others and have no more than four people in an elevator at a time.
Officials made the decision based off of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 map, which measures the rate of the disease’s spread. Each county is highlighted in one of three colors: green (low spread), yellow (moderate spread) or orange (high spread).
In this week’s update, Cuyahoga County moved into the orange level. Only nine counties remain in the green, while half the state is also in the orange.
On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health reported more than 28,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last week, which is up nearly 3,000 from the week before. Six weeks ago, the weekly number of new cases stood around 16,000. The average is about 4,268 news cases a week in Ohio.
Cuyahoga County joins a growing list of local governments issuing mask mandates or recommendations as COVID cases continue to rise in Ohio and across the U.S.
Columbus Public Health issued a mask advisory, not a mandate, last week after the CDC labeled Franklin County as having a “high” transmission of COVID-19. Cincinnati health officials also issued the same recommendation.
Schools are also starting to make a decision on masks. Ohio University announced Friday morning that starting Aug. 1, masks will be required indoors on campus after Athens County was also placed in the “high” transmission category.
