CDC recommends masks indoors for majority of NW Ohio, regardless of vaccination status

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The Centers for Disease and Control now recommends most Northwest Ohio residents wear a mask indoors regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

The recommendation is based on the level of community transmission of the virus in a given county. Multiple counties in the region have been upgraded from “moderate” to “substantial” transmission in the latest CDC update based on case rates.

The CDC is urging both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in areas of “substantial” and “high” COVID-19 transmission to wear a mask indoors. Most Northwest Ohio counties now fall under those categories, with the exception of Seneca, Hancock, Putnam, and Hardin Counties – the CDC lists these counties as areas with moderate transmission.

The CDC updated its masking guidance last week based on the highly contagious Delta variant’s ability to spread among vaccinated people. It also recommended masking indoors for all staff and students in U.S. schools regardless of vaccination status.

Northwest Ohio Counties considered to have substantial coronavirus transmission include:

Lucas County
Wood County
Ottawa County
Sandusky County
Henry County
Huron County
Wyandot County
Crawford County
Paulding County
Van Wert County

Northwest Ohio Counties considered to have high coronavirus transmission include:

Erie County
Fulton County
Williams County
Defiance County
Allen County

You can check the level of COVID-19 transmission in your county here.

Public health officials maintain that vaccination against COVID-19 is the best way to protect yourself against the virus.

While new CDC data shows that the Delta variant may produce the same viral load in vaccinated and unvaccinated people, breakthrough infections in those vaccinated are rare. COVID-19 vaccines reduce an individual’s risk of hospitalization or death by 10 times or more.

“Protect yourself and your family by getting vaccinated. If you’ve been waiting, now is the time,” said Lucas County Health Commissioner Dr. Zgodzinski. “Together, as a community, we can protect each other and put the pandemic behind us.”