TOLEDO, Ohio — COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Lucas County. Last weekend the health department was reporting about 13 new positive cases, but this weekend the number of new cases more than doubled to about 33 new cases.
Health Commissioner Dr. Eric Zgodzinski says he is concerned the upcoming holiday weekend will make things worse.
"We are still in the midst of this disease. We actually see it's increasing, and that we need to take precautions really right now before it spirals too much out of control," Zgodzinski said.
Right now, case numbers are increasing for people age 18-40 in Lucas County, a similar trend happening across the state of Ohio. Some of those local case numbers have been traced back to similar locations.
"I think there are commonalities across the board, there are some workplaces, there are some bars, there's travel out of the county to other counties. So it is a mixture," Zgodzinski said.
The county has close to 150 contact tracers tracking cases. While things are still relatively under control locally, health officials worry if numbers keep going up locally the county may have to work backward.
"Because we don't want to get into a position where we have to start rolling back things, you know maybe closing bars or restaurants, curtailing things we'd like to be able to do," Zgodzinski said.
Zgodzinski also talked about the possibility of mandatory face coverings while in public for Lucas County residents. That measure is not being implemented right now but isn't completely out of the question, especially if case numbers continue to increase.
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