Parks will require masks as cases climb
New rules go into effect for ages 10 or older
Runners, bikers and anyone else 10 or older will have to wear face coverings in Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks starting Monday as Ohio nears 300,000 cases of COVID-19.
The state reported 7,853 new cases Sunday, down for the second straight day from a record 8,071 on Friday. The pace of new cases has been accelerating in Ohio, increasing from an average of about 1,000 per day in mid-september to the record-busting counts over the past week.
Over the past three days, there have been 23,639 diagnosed with COVID-19.
While cases again ticked down, they still are well above the 21-day average of 4,761.
Another 189 people were hospitalized and eight had died from the coronavirus as of Saturday, the state reported. The positivity rate was down slightly to 11.9% on Friday, the most-recent day for which data is available.
Since the start of the pandemic, Ohio has had 298,096 cases, and 5,722 have died from the virus. A total of 22,265 have been hospitalized with the virus, and 4,204 were admitted to intensivecare units.
Ohio ranked No. 22 among the states where coronavirus is spreading the fastest, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
Franklin County leads the state in the
number of COVID-19 cases with 42,891. There have been 651 deaths and 2,448 hospitalized since the state began tracking the course of the virus.
New Metro Parks rules
Metro Parks said on its social media that it is implementing the following steps “to protect the health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
Effective Monday, all Metro Parks employees and all visitors are required to wear a mask while in a Metro Park. Per the governor’s order, exemptions can be made for those who are medically or developmentally unable to wear a mask and children younger than 10. The order requires that the mask cover the nose, mouth and chin.
All participants in Metro Parkssponsored programs must wear a mask.
Additionally, they should practice social distancing and stay at least 6 feet from others. astaver@dispatch.com jwoods@dispatch.com