COLUMBUS – Even as the federal government prepared to ease mask guidelines, Ohio health leaders are preaching optimistic caution about the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UPDATE 2/26/22 8:11 a.m.: U.S. officials say most Americans live in places where healthy people can safely take a break from wearing masks.
Though the omicron surge of COVID-19 appears to be waning, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, says the disease is “not done threatening us.”
“The fact is COVID-19 is still a real presence in Ohio and, as much as we look forward to hearing that we’re in the all-clear, the data still point toward caution,” he said during a press briefing Thursday morning.
Vanderhoff says the rate of infection has fallen to 174 cases per 100,000 population, a 90% drop from the rate at the peak of the omicron surge, all of Ohio’s 88 counties still met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s criteria for “significant” community spread.
The state reported 1,321 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and is now recording an average of 2,800 new cases per day, compared with 20,000 in January, Vanderhoff said.
Mask guidelines easing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday outlined a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip.
They focus less on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.
More than 70% of the U.S. population lives in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals.
Those are the people who can stop wearing masks for now.
The agency is still advising that people, including schoolchildren, wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high.
The new recommendations don’t change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation.
A mask mandate in Columbus remains in effect.