Cuyahoga County and its Board of Health have issued a Stay-at-Home Advisory that ends Thursday, December 17, 2020. The Advisory encourages Cuyahoga County residents to stay home to the greatest extent possible due to the rapid local rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Residents are advised only to leave their home to go to work or school, or for essential needs such as seeking medical care, purchasing essential items from a grocery store or pharmacy, picking up prepared food or receiving deliveries.

Additionally, residents are strongly advised to avoid traveling within and outside of the State of Ohio and are urged not to invite guests to their homes during the upcoming holiday.

As Mayor, the most important job I have is protecting the health and safety of our residents. As a community we should be fully aware of the recent dramatic increase in diagnosed cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Our own Case Western Reserve University predicts an additional 1,000 to 2,000 cases each day in northeast Ohio if drastic steps are not taken immediately. This will overwhelm our hospital systems. Please read the Board of Health’s Stay at Home Advisory. Please limit holiday gatherings to people living in your home. And of course, please continue to wear a mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing.

This Advisory aligns with all orders set forth by Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health. Governor DeWine has also established a statewide curfew that begins Thursday, November 19.

Read the Stay at Home Advisory announcement here.

This is the time of the year when we typically prepare for family traditions and gatherings, when we go shopping for gifts and festive holiday meals, when we gather together in grand style to celebrate the holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve and Day. But this year, for the first time in our lives, we have to say NO! This year, we must refuse holiday gatherings with family and friends, because our lives and the lives of all of those around us depend upon it. 

Nearly 250,000 people nationwide have died from coronavirus: 5,500 in Ohio alone. Every day we set new records for cases diagnosed, hospitalizations and deaths. 

We are tired. We miss our loved ones. We want to celebrate the end of a difficult year. But this year, we must make sacrifices. With COVID raging throughout our state and nation, there is no safe space for in-person celebratory meals with loved ones, for board games or puzzles with young relatives. Instead, we must follow the revised guidance of the CDC and the recommendations of Governor DeWine. Traditional gatherings put us at risk of spreading the virus among loved ones. We cannot crowd around the traditional holiday table and maintain a six-foot distance from one another. 

Some will mock this advice and insist on having their traditional holiday parties. It may give them a sense of independence. But when the virus infects Grandma, and she ends up in the hospital on a ventilator (or worse), how will you live with the guilt?

For the health of your household and our entire community, use technology to stay in touch this holiday season. Schedule your candle lighting, tree trimming, holiday singing and New Year’s toasting on Zoom. Place your iPad between the brisket and the potato pancakes and share a festive meal with your relatives via Facetime or Houseparty.

Let the words of Meria Marom’s haiku give you strength to get through this season:
We isolate now
So when we gather again
No one is missing.

Next year, we hope to have vaccines and medicines that will allow us to return to a normal life. But for now, we make sacrifices. Don’t be the reason that someone is missing when we can safely gather again. Stay home, and keep your household safe. Best wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season.

If you still insist on gathering with those outside your household, please follow these guidelines:

• Take temperatures of those entering your home. Turn away anyone exhibiting a high fever or other symptoms of coronavirus.
• Limit the number of guests so that you can maintain 6-foot distances at all times. Set up smaller tables in the garage with the door open.
• Make everyone wear a mask that covers mouth AND NOSE, and wash/sanitize hands before entering.
• Limit the amount of time together. If you go for dinner, don’t stay for TV or socializing. The CDC warns that a mere 15 minutes of exposure to someone who is COVID positive greatly increases your risk of becoming infected.
• Provide increased ventilation with open windows or by continuously running the furnace fan and stove exhaust.
• Encourage guests to bring their own food and drinks for themselves and members of their household. Avoid pot-luck style gatherings and avoid congregating in the kitchen near food.
• Wear a mask when preparing and serving food and any time when not actively eating or drinking.

Pending any new orders from the State or County Department or Board of Health, trick-or-treating will take place in Beachwood on Halloween: Saturday, October 31, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.

The safety of our residents is our top priority, but we will need your help to make this possible.

Trick-or-Treaters and their chaperones MUST:

• Wear COVID-appropriate masks – incorporate it into your child’s costume. Masks are required for all participants over the age of 2-years old
• Carry and frequently apply hand sanitizer
• Only trick-or treat at houses with the porch light on
• Only trick-or-treat with members of your own household
• Observe social-distancing regulations

Door-answerers are advised to:

• Hand out treats individually rather than using a group candy-bowl
• Wear gloves while distributing candy and only have one household member handing out treats
• Place candy in the child’s bag, not their hands
• Other creative and social-distanced options include hanging treats from a wall, fence, or decorated board, or by using a candy slide made of PVC pipe
• Mark 6-feet lengths on the walkway to your front door to promote social distancing

Residents who do not wish to participate in trick-or-treating this year are advised to leave off their porch lights and enjoy an age-appropriate scary movie on TV while munching on plenty of homemade or factory-wrapped treats.

The City reserves the right to rescind trick-or treat pending updated orders from the state or county Board of Health.

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