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 10 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 647. The date of onset ranges from February 29 to April 4 with an age range of one week old to 101 years old. There are 20 deaths in Cuyahoga County to date, with an age range of 55 to 93 years old.
  
  COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports from Google
• Google has launched a new website that uses anonymous location data collected from users of Google products and services to show the level of social distancing taking place in various locations.
• The COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports website will show population data trends of six categories: retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplaces and residents.
• The data will track changes over the course of several weeks, and as recent as 48 to 72 hours prior. The data will outline percentages which will highlight potential surges in attendance to places like parks and grocery stores.

Closure of Local Business

• The Board of Health has its first instance of have to order a business closed based on the state’s order regarding what are considered to be essential and non-essential businesses.
• Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan granted a temporary restraining order closing the business after determining that by staying open, the business created “an unnecessary risk of spreading COVID-19.”
• Each day, the Board of Health is getting more information and great clarification about the extend of the order. They are working with businesses and erring on the side of letting them continue to operate until they come to the conclusion that these businesses do not fall under the description of a business that should stay open.

Continuing to Protect Ourselves

• More people are wearing masks this week following the CDC’s recommendation. Many places such as the grocery store, the post office and retail stores are actively practicing and promoting social distance. Some are monitoring occupancy and restricting the number of people allowed in at one time.

Help for Stress of Anxiety

• If you are experiencing stress or anxiety, you can call Cuyahoga County’s 24-hour Warmline at 440-886-5950 to talk with a peer, or text “4hope” to 741741, the Crisis Text Line.
• If you are in crisis, please call the 24-Hour Suicide Prevention, Mental Health/Addiction Crisis, Information and Referral Hotline at 216-632-6888.

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.