| Akron Beacon Journal
Free boxes of non-medical, disposable face masks will be available for Medina County residents Friday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge in the county and across the country.
The Medina County Health Department encourages residents to use the hashtag #MaskUpMedinaCounty on social media on “Mask Up Medina County Day.”
The distribution will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday in a drive-through format at locations across the county. It’s open to all Medina County residents, with a limit of one box per car.
Locations include Medina Fire Station #1 (300 W. Reagan Parkway), Brunswick Fire Station #1 (4383 Center Road), Wadsworth Fire Station #2 (338 Weatherstone Drive), Brunswick Hills Township Fire Station #2 (4875 Grafton Road), Seville-Guilford Fire Station (100 W. Greenwich Road) and Westfield Fire & Rescue (8515 Virginia Drive).
All Medina County District Library locations and Wadsworth library will also have masks available ongoing in their lobbies.
In a weekly update, Medina County Health Commissioner Krista Wasowski said Medina County — which is currently Level 3 (red) and on a watch list to go to Level 4 (purple), the highest level in the Ohio Public Health Advisory System — will “likely” move to purple by either this week or next week “if this trend continues.”
According to the Ohio Department of Health, Medina County has had 5,433 cases, 245 hospitalizations and 57 deaths as of Tuesday.
The county is currently under a stay at home advisory, which the health department said is meant to limit gatherings with others and make people more aware of their interactions, not prevent people from being out in public. The department encouraged people to support local businesses.
The health department encouraged those who are sick to self-quarantine and get tested, and stay home from work or school until they get their results, even if they don’t feel that sick. A list of testing locations is available at medinahealth.org/community/current-outbreaks/testing.
The health department said that because of the volume of cases, those who test positive will likely be notified by their provider or through their online medical chart before the positive result is reported to the health department.
Those in a high-risk group, a student or those who work in “a sensitive occupation,” like as a first responder or medical worker, are asked to call the health department as soon as they receive their positive test at 330-723-9688, option 2.
Those who test positive should also notify anyone they came into contact with 48 hours before symptoms started to help prevent more spread.
“Thank you for everything you are doing, Medina County,” Wasowski said. “Your efforts are not going unnoticed, but our current situation is telling us much more work needs to be done. Please keep masking up, keeping distance, and hanging in there. There will be an end in sight.”
