Ohio officials have focused testing resources in high-risk areas, like Cuyahoga County and other more populated areas.
But what about less populated rural Ohio communities? Geauga County, for example, remains at even as adjacent counties have seen large increases in COVID-19 cases.
Does that actually mean there鈥檚 less coronavirus spread there?
Not necessarily, said Geauga County Health Commissioner Tom Quade.
鈥淲hen we have areas that have greater access to testing, we鈥檙e going to have more folks in that proximity getting tested, and so the more testing you do, obviously the more cases you find,鈥� Quade said.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 reflect the actual prevalence of (the) disease, and that鈥檚 a little bit troubling, that perhaps those areas actually have a better grip on what the prevalence of (the) disease is because of the increased testing.鈥�
Geauga County's coronavirus testing rates are low, but Quade said that isn鈥檛 necessarily reflective of low prevalence of the disease.
It鈥檚 possible the lack of testing means the county doesn鈥檛 fully know how much the virus has spread, he said.
鈥淭hat would be actually fairly disturbing, but we don鈥檛 have a way of knowing that for sure,鈥� Quade said.
A sign in Chardon, in Geauga County, reminds residents and visitors of social distancing guidelines. [Lisa Ryan / ideastream]
Even without widespread testing in less populated areas, Geauga County still has to abide by state rules like Gov. Mike DeWine's mask mandate.
In Chardon, the county seat, it appears many people are following the guideline and wearing a facial covering.
Masks are not necessarily required in outdoor spaces in Ohio if social distancing can be observed. But on a recent visit to the town square where there is a park with a gazebo and picnic table, ideastream reporter Lisa Ryan observed many people wearing masks.
Two brothers were in the park wearing masks, and they said they鈥檝e been wearing them even before they were required to do so. But even though they feel the masks are good protection against COVID-19 spread, they don鈥檛 like the idea of the governor mandating masks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of sad to see that people have to wear it to do their normal everyday activities,鈥� Joe from Chardon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like that liberty versus security argument. Freedom鈥檚 important, but keeping people safe, it鈥檚 hard to keep the balance with that.鈥�
Some Chardon residents don鈥檛 like the mask mandate because they don't believe they need to wear masks, Health Commissioner Quade said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that鈥檚 misunderstood by a lot of our population to begin with,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a lot of doubters that it even exists. We have a lot of doubters in regard to the strategies we鈥檙e employing, but we do know we do those things, the numbers go down. But then when the numbers go down, it鈥檚 very difficult to convince folks to do the things that will keep them down.鈥�
The state looks at several indicators to determine how bad coronavirus spread is in each county, which determines its color or risk level. The Ohio Department of Health is developing a metric to also analyze the amount of testing per capita because the number of tests in a county will determine how much the state know about coronavirus spread.
Quade said Geauga County鈥檚 lower population is a factor in why the county hasn鈥檛 seen as much testing.
鈥淭here鈥檚 sort of a circular reasoning in that our numbers aren鈥檛 so bad, we鈥檙e not a hot spot, so we don鈥檛 need to have the tests,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ell, if we don鈥檛 have the tests, we鈥檙e not going to show the numbers that demonstrate we鈥檙e a hot spot.鈥�
The Geauga Theater marquee reads "Stay Safe." A note on the theater's website says the theater has suspended all operations and is closed until further notice. [Lisa Ryan / ideastream]
Travel from county to county is also an issue, and Quade said it was a huge factor in deciding to hold the Geauga County Fair as a junior fair only.
鈥淚f we do have even a modified full fair, we鈥檙e going to be drawing folks from all over the state because there鈥檚 so few fairs left,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd a lot of our neighbors aren鈥檛 in yellow, they鈥檙e in red.鈥�
Patterson Fruit Farm is in Chesterland, near the borders of Cuyahoga and Lake counties. It鈥檚 a popular destination for people in the area, some of whom travel from higher-risk counties.
A cashier at Patterson Fruit Farm said for the most part, customers are following the mask mandate, but she said they don't confront customers who don't follow it.
Enforcement has been inconsistent throughout the state, with many businesses choosing to avoid conflict with customers.
But some of the residents do believe coronavirus is an issue, like Jeremy from Chardon, who doesn鈥檛 go into public places. He鈥檚 been following the news and watching the rise in cases, but he鈥檚 most concerned about one thing.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping we have football season, that鈥檚 what my big thing is for the fall," he said.
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