CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — They’ve been pleading with folks for months to wear a mask, wash their hands and stop gathering in large groups. Now, Cuyahoga County says its seeing the worst COVID-19 surge yet.
Today, there’s more than 750 new confirmed COVID cases—a new high.
“These are very, very big numbers and this is serious business,” said Terry Allan, the Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner.
Allan said this possibly isn’t the worst of it.
“The models indicate we could be on track for 1,000 to 2,000 cases a day in the coming weeks if these continuing and very concerning trends are what we'll be facing in the weeks ahead,” Allen said.
The testing positivity rate, once in the single digits, is now at 15%.
According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, there’s been a 300% increase in positive tests in just the last month.
The board of health adds although lots more people are being tested, it’s not affecting how quickly folks are getting results.
Contact tracing is another story though.
“In a perfect world, we would be able to identify every contact and we would be able to get to that person, explain their risk, get them quarantined for 14 days. Right now, we're pretty dependent on individuals notifying their own contacts,” said county Medical Director Dr. Heidi Gullett.
The county is working to make sure businesses survive this pandemic.
"I'm announcing a third round of funding $4.3 million to be given out as grants up to $10,000 each,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish. "This new round will open on Monday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m. The program will run through Thursday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.”
RELATED: Cuyahoga County accepting third round of small business grant applications
The county is also offering utility assistance until the end of the year for its residents.
To learn more, click here.
