Contacts:
Joint Information Center: JIC@cuyahogacounty.us; 216-443-5245


CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH — Today the Cuyahoga County Board of Health held their media briefing regarding COVID-19 at their offices at 5550 Venture Drive, Parma, Ohio 44130 at 8:45 a.m. The next briefing will take place Friday April 17 at 8:45 a.m. The briefings will continue until the COVID-19 situation no longer merits regular messaging.

Below are points discussed by Board of Health Commissioner Terry Allan and Board of Health Medical Director Dr. Heidi Gullett:

Cases

• As of this morning, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cuyahoga County, excluding the City of Cleveland, is 845. The age range of confirmed cases is one week old to 101 years old. There are 25 deaths in Cuyahoga County to date, with an age range of 55 to 93 years old.
• Cuyahoga County data can also be found on the CCBH website.

Masks

• Use cloth face coverings (masks) in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and public parks.
• Make cloth face coverings from household items or common materials. Use multiple layers of a fabric that does not damage or lose shape when laundered or machine dried.
• Use coverings that fit snugly but comfortably and allow for breathing without restriction. Secure behind the head with ties or ear loops. Wear horizontally.
• Ensure that your nose, mouth, and chin are covered at all times.
• For more information on the proper use of cloth face coverings, please visit: coronavirus.ohio.gov.

Long-Term Care Facilities

• The state will be issuing an order requiring long-term care facilities to notify families within 24 hours if a resident or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.
• A list of facilities where a resident or staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 will be posted on the Ohio Department of Health’s website.
• We know that many long-term care residents have underlying health conditions, and therefore are more susceptible to becoming ill.
• In order to provide services to long-term care residents, employees, physicians and caretakers must enter these facilities every day.
• Any person who enters a long-term care facility could spread the virus as an asymptomatic carrier.
• The virus does not have to spread through the coughs and sneezes of an obviously ill individual. We must be careful not to stigmatize long-term care facilities. For the residents, their families, and the staff, this is their time of need.

Too Early to Let Up

• It is crucial that all residents continue to stay in their homes to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. We must not waste the effort we have worked so hard to put forth.

The Board of Health is following the lead of the Ohio Department of Health and the CDC.

To access the Cuyahoga County Coronavirus Help Line, call 440-59-COVID (440-592-6843).

For more information from the Board of Health, visit https://www.ccbh.net/.

For information from the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

For information from the Ohio Department of Health, visit https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/ or call 1-833-4-ASKODH.