New Coronavirus Alert System Unveiled

Ohio is using a new color-coded, county-by-county coronavirus alert and advisory system to assess which areas may be seeing flare-ups of cases. The system takes into account seven indicators for each county, such as sustained increases in cases and coronavirus-related hospital admissions, outpatient and emergency room visits, and the proportion of cases that aren’t connected to congregate settings, such as prisons or nursing homes. State officials say they also intend to factor in information from coronavirus testing and contact-tracing.