What would it take to drop to level yellow?

Hancock County remains orange in the state's public health advisory system. So what would it take to get us back to yellow, the lowest level? Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi said that, although the county was still orange in the state's update released Thursday, he is encouraged that we are "trending in the right direction." Baroudi noted that the county had met just two of the state's seven indicators for a public emergency: new cases per capita, and noncongregate cases. And he said these numbers are getting better, as new cases per capita were 91.3 cases per 100,000 people last week, but just 63.5 this week. Baroudi said he suspects that next week, Hancock County will be back to yellow. "We just have to keep it up," he said. Baroudi said community members need to wear masks, practice social distancing and maintain good hand hygiene. Tara Smith, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and professor at Kent State University College of Public Health, said the things people need to do to get communities back to yellow are what public health leaders have recommended since the pandemic began. She said it's also important to remember that transmission happens in family clusters. She recently saw a report of a wedding in Maine that spread the virus to 60 people. "I think it's when we drop our guard with our friends and families" that virus transmission happens, she said. She said "there are no interactions" that are "completely safe" — including with people you love. She understands that people want to get back to seeing their families, but said "you don't want to infect the people you love," or vice versa. Smith said it may feel safer to be around loved ones rather than strangers. In reality, she said going into a grocery store briefly is less risky than having a group of friends sit, unmasked, for an entire dinner, she said. Baroudi said when we do drop to yellow, the goal needs to be to keep it that way. And, he said, getting to yellow doesn't mean we are "out of the woods." "We don't want the fire to keep smoldering," he said. His message to parents? "It all starts at home." Talk to your children about how these safety measures protect us, he said, and stress that wearing a mask is "not a big deal." Kids are excited to be getting back to school, and the more we as a community follow public health recommendations, the greater the likelihood that they'll be able to go to school and stay there, he said.