Entire state still listed at ‘high’ transmission

The Lawrence County Health Department says the county ranks 63rd of Ohio’s 88 counties for number of new cases of the COVID-19 virus.

In number compiled on Dec. 3, the department said the county had seen 317 cases over the preceding two weeks (533.1 cases per 100,000 residents).

This continues to be significantly lower than the county’s ranking earlier in the year, when it was in the top five highest rates in the state in late summer.

In the week ending Dec. 3, the health department reported 167 new COVID-19 cases and 10 hospitalizations in the county.

As of Friday, the county, as well as the 87 others in Ohio, was ranked red for “high” transmission of the virus by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Many school districts in the county have said they will continue to implement mask requirements for students as long as cases are in the red.