Important Information From the Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency Joint Command for COVID-19 Response – October 22, 2020
Muskingum County remains at the third COVID-19 alert risk level of RED on the weekly update to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System Update for COVID-19 released by the Ohio Department of Health. At this time, Muskingum County only triggers 2 of the 7 indicators, (per capita rate is over 50 and most of our cases are in the community, not in long-term care facilities.) The most important of all the indicators is the per capita rate of cases. If this rate is over 50 cases per 100,000 population in the prior 2 weeks, the indicator is triggered. We triggered that about 3 weeks ago. Further, if the rate goes over 100 cases per 100,000 population you are designated a “High Incidence” county. This means that even if you are not triggering any of the other indicators you will remain RED until the rate falls below 100 case per 100,000 population. That is the situation we are in, currently.
On September 26, our rate was 40 cases per 100,000. Today it is 212 cases per 100,000! That is an incredibly significant rise in cases, indicating a very high risk of exposure and community spread in our county. Therefore, we are remaining RED, despite not triggering 4 indicators.
• YELLOW: 0-1 indicators
• ORANGE: 2-3 indicators
• RED: 4-5 indicators (Or persistent per capita rate of
over 100 cases per 100,000)
• PURPLE: 6-7 indicators
We are seeing increasing cases in long-term care facilities such as we’ve recently seen at Primrose Retirement Community. We are also seeing a growing number of cases in local businesses, factories, schools and athletes, and cases that are related to gatherings such as
large weddings and parties. This is likely the result of the increased risk of community exposure based on our growing case numbers. Now more than ever it is vital that all our county residents responsibly protect each other through the safety measures that we know help 1. Wear a mask correctly, covering the chin, mouth and nose; 2. Keep a safe distance (at least 6 feet); 3. Avoid gatherings of 10 or more from outside your household; 4. Wash or sanitize your hands frequently; and 5. Stay home if you are sick. None of these measures are perfect. None of them work by themselves. But, doing all of them goes a long way to protecting our family and friends from this infection.
