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Summit Co. Commissioner Asks Residents to Be Vigilant in Fighting Spread of COVID-19

A screenshot of the Summit County Public Health dashboard.
Mark Arehart
/
Summit County Public Health
A screenshot of the Summit County Public Health dashboard.

In Summit County, twice as many people each week are testing positive for COVID-19 than in October.

Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda is cautioning people to stay vigilant about fighting the virus.

She said cases are rising across the county because people are sick and tired of the pandemic.

“All of us want to live different, and we want freedom. We want choice. But we have to understand that that is the very thing that allows this virus to continue to replicate and continue to spread,” she said.

Summit has seen cases jump from around 70 a week on average to more than 180 a week in the past month.

Skoda said the only way to start to curb the spread is diligently practicing the basics.

Social distancing, washing your hands and mask wearing, even indoors with people who aren’t household members.

With the holidays fast approaching, Skoda cautions people not to let their guards down even with loved ones.

“You have to treat every single person like they have COVID. And we forget about our loved ones as having COVID,” she said.

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Mark has been a host, reporter and producer at several NPR member stations in Delaware, Alaska, Washington and Kansas. His reporting has taken him everywhere from remote islands in the Bering Sea to the tops of skyscrapers overlooking Puget Sound. He is a diehard college basketball fan who enjoys taking walks with his dog, Otis.