Summit County won’t be moving out of level red restrictions for the foreseeable future.
At a Summit County Board of Health meeting Tuesday, Dec. 15, County Manager Scott Vargo said the county’s current public health order, which places it in level red, will extend past Friday, Dec. 18 — its current expiration date. When the county initially moved into level red, state officials said it would be able to move into level orange once the county showed a two-week decline in its incidence rate.
The state, which determines where counties fall on the COVID-19 dial, has since changed its mind. State officials are now saying that the county must show two weeks of level orange numbers to move out of level red, which prohibits indoor dining and gatherings among more than one household.
“We’re quite concerned about this,” Vargo said. “The state has moved the bar on us and changed their expectations.”
Although Summit County has seen a sustained decline in its two-week incidence rate — the number of new cases per 100,000 people — it is still far from being within level orange. As of Tuesday afternoon, the county’s incidence rate was at 968.3 new cases per 100,000 people, which is far above the 350 new cases per 100,000 people that is required to move into level orange.
