Coronavirus: Gov. DeWine announces mandatory masks for counties under Level 3 alert

MIAMI VALLEY — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that masks and facial coverings will become mandatory for counties that fall under the Level 3 red alert level for coronavirus.

“This is what is needed for Ohioans to stay safe,” DeWine said, adding that he’s spoken with each of the health commissioners in the state’s red level counties. “It makes sense to approach this by county.”

>> Coronavirus: DeWine announces mask requirements for certain counties, sports games can resume

The public health order will go into effect at 6 pm. Wednesday and will be in effect until a county exits the Alert Level 3 Red category.

Currently in the Miami Valley, those counties include Montgomery and Butler.

The order will not apply to those under the age of 10 or any others that cannot safely wear a mask.

Violations of the order would be a misdemeanor, DeWine said.

OTHER CLARIFICATIONS:

• Masks will be required in any indoor location that is not a residence.
• Masks are required when people are outdoors and unable to consistently maintain a distance of six feet or more from individuals who are not members of their household.
• Masks required when people are waiting for, riding, driving, or operating public transportation, a taxi, a private care service, or a ride-sharing vehicle.
• The Order also reflects the mask guidance that has existed for employees and businesses under their health and safety guidelines, which does not require a person to wear a mask if their physician advises against it if wearing a mask is prohibited by federal regulation, if communicating with the hearing impaired, when alone in your office or personal workspace, and other similar measures.
• Schools that offer Kindergarten through Grade 12 instruction should follow the guidelines set forth last week by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Health.

The Ohio Public Health Advisory System was unveiled by DeWine last week and includes a color coded system to alert health departments to problem areas for coronavirus.

• Alert Level 1 (Yellow): This level means a county has triggered zero or one of the indicators, and there is an active exposure and spread. Currently, Miami, Mercer, Auglaize, Logan, Champaign, Darke, Shelby and Clinton Counties are at this level.
• Alert Level 2 (Orange): This level means a county has triggered two or three indicators and there is an increased risk of exposure and spread. Counties at this level are seeing cases that are growing in the last two weeks. Currently, Preble, Greene, and Clark Counties are at this level.
• Alert Level 3 (Red): This level means a county has triggered four or five indicators, and there is a very high exposure and spread. Risk is very high. Currently, Butler and Montgomery Counties are at this level.
• Alert Level 4 (Purple): The highest level means a county has triggered six or seven indicators, and there is severe exposure and spread. Officials say to stay home as much as possible when in this level. There are no current counties on this list but Franklin County, which includes Columbus, is on the watch list.

The indicators used to trigger these alert levels include:

New Cases Per Capita: A flag is triggered when a county has had an average of 50 cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. This takes into account the population of a county when monitoring case increases.

Sustained Increased in New Cases: A county will be flagged for meeting this indicator if the data shows at least a five day period of sustained new case growth.

Proportion of Cases Not Congregate Cases: A flag is triggered when data shows more than 50 percent of new cases originating from non-congregate settings during at least one of the past three weeks.

Sustained Increase in ER Visits: A county will be flagged there is an increase in emergency room visit with COVID-19 symptoms or diagnosis over a five day period.

Sustained Increase in Outpatient Visits: A county will be flagged when there is an increase in the number of people visiting outpatient settings with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 symptoms over a five-day period.

Sustained Increase in New COVID-19 Hospital Admissions: The county will be flagged when the data shows at least a five-day period of sustained growth in the number of county residents with COVID-19 are admitted to a hospital.

ICU Bed Occupancy: A county will be flagged when the regional ICU occupancy goes above 80 percent for both COVID-19 and non-COVID uses of beds for at least three of the last seven days.

© 2020 Cox Media Group