Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) strongly urges everyone to take a moment to realize the troubling trends in our state and community. Ohio is breaking records of the number of new cases reported daily. Closer to home, daily case counts in the FCPH jurisdiction have more than doubled over the last week. In Central Ohio, we are now at our highest total of COVID-19 patients hospitalized since May 19 – a 153.6% increase since the most recent minimum 40 days ago. We should all be very concerned about these trends particularly as the weather gets colder and flu season is here.
As we have said since March, if we work together, we can “flatten the curve.” We know what works; we have done it before. We need to double-down and do it again. Always wear a mask, keep 6 feet social distance from others, wash your hands often and stay home if you are sick. And in addition to that, we are now asking our residents to reconsider social gatherings. Too often it’s these gatherings such as parties, sporting events and other occasions that have proven to be how the virus is spreading. Residents should also consider necessary travel only.
The Franklin County Board of Elections has worked extremely hard to assure COVID-19 precautions are in place this election season. Whether you are heading to the early voting center this weekend or are going to your polling location on Tuesday, please remember the simple steps to protect yourself and others. Visit our website at www.myfcph.org/vote for more tips.
Finally, as requested by Governor DeWine, FCPH is working with our partners at Columbus Public Health to form our COVID-19 Defense Team. We are proud of the work we have done to date to connect with our community leaders throughout this response. This coordination will continue to be a priority to work with our elected officials, emergency management, healthcare, community-based agencies, schools and other stakeholders. Updates and outcomes of these conversations can be found on our website.
Joe Mazzola, MPA
Franklin County Health Commissioner