CINCINNATI — On Monday, Mayor John Cranley reminded Cincinnatians that City Hall will be closed down for several weeks as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.
As Thanksgiving draws near, Cranley said he’s worried people will disregard warnings from health officials and come into close contact with others who do not live in their household. He urged residents to stay home and stay in their respective bubbles as the holiday season approaches and temperatures drop.
Cranley said he will be working from home when he can, and he urged employers to move their employees to remote work if possible.
City health director Melba Moore announced Cincinnati saw its highest case count since the start of the pandemic on Saturday, with 247 cases confirmed city-wide. On Monday, there were an additional 218 positive cases.
"Our healthcare officials are sounding the alarm," said Moore. "The more cases affects the number of healthcare workers in that setting."
She said there is growing concern about the age brackets now showing the highest degrees of infections; while younger people continue to make up a plurality of cases, Moore said the bracket representing residents aged 50-59 are showing growing cases as well. This age group is higher risk and more likely to encounter danger from COVID-19 symptoms.
Cranley also acknowledged recent news about vaccines, which are reporting high degrees of efficacy in staving off the COVID-19 virus, but he likened the arrival of a vaccine to D-Day, during World War II.
"After D-Day, in retrospect, it was clear that we were going to win World War II, but it took another year and a half and tens of thousands of people died between D-Day and the end of the war," he said. "That's kind of where we are now. Where the end is clear, but there's enormous amounts of danger between now and then."
On Friday, during a conference with the Health Collaborative, it was announced that the coronavirus is spreading faster in Ohio than in the U.S. as a whole, according to Craig Brammer, CEO of the Health Collaborative.
Watch the full announcement below:
