Media Contacts:
Mary Louise Madigan: (216) 698-2521; mlmadigan@cuyahogacounty.us

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH — Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish issued the following statement:

“We thank Governor DeWine for his continued and much-needed support as COVID continues to rage through Cuyahoga County.

Recently, we have seen different variants spread quickly throughout our community, which has sadly resulted in our county having the third most positive cases per capita in the entire nation. The County Jail is no exception and unfortunately reflects this grave trend with 160 inmates and 42 corrections staff testing positive as of today.

The safety, health, and well-being of all members of our community are of utmost importance and we will continue to do everything we can to respond to this new wave.

In order to protect our prisoners, staff, and community, I asked the Governor for help. He immediately responded by offering to send 25 members of the Ohio Military Reserve to help us in the jail. I am deeply appreciative.”

Cuyahoga County Sheriff Christopher Viland issued the following statement:

“I want to thank the Governor and the County Executive, as well as the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and the Ohio Military Reserve, for their rapid and considered response to our requests for assistance during this extraordinary surge of COVID in the County Jail.

We continue to work every day to try to ensure that both our inmate populations and our staff are supported as much as possible during this ongoing public health crisis.”