XENIA — Greene County has seen a slight increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations for the past week, and as a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated the county as a Medium Level in its COVID-19 Community Level Framework.

The COVID-19 Community Levels framework is a tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.

Per the CDC, the weekly metrics used to determine the transmission level were:

— Case Rate per 100,000 population at 76.36.

— New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population at 11.5 percent

— Staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID at 19: 2.1 percent.

Greene County Public Health urges residents to take precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 based on the COVID-19 Community Level.

When a county is designated at a medium level in the CDC’s framework, the following actions are recommended:

— Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.

— Get tested if you have symptoms and stay home if you are sick, away from others.

— Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.

— If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.

Greene County Public Health, along with state and federal partners, will continue to monitor the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and make revised recommendations should conditions warrant.

For more information, call 937-374-5600, visit www.gcph.info, or email [email protected].