CADIZ — Following an uptick in coronavirus cases over the past couple of weeks, Harrison County has moved back to Level 2 on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.

Garen Rhome, administrator of the Harrison County Health Department, said the county was notified Thursday afternoon it had been moved to Level 2, or the orange category, due to flagging two of the seven indicators of the advisory system.

This change will not affect trick or treat times, Rhome said. The advisory system is only a tool used to notify residents of the state of spread in the community and does not impose any restrictions, only recommendations, he said.

Throughout Ohio, the major cause for the rise in positive cases and spread is gatherings of extended family and friends, Rhome said.

“We recommend against any sort of Halloween party that would draw people in from multiple household units to one particular location,” he said.

The school system’s safety plan is tied to the color-coded system, so more status changes could alter the school’s curriculum if a high level of transmission risk is indicated. However, an increase to Level 2 will not affect Harrison Hills City School District’s in-school instruction, Rhome said.

“The system is important for our major school system, Harrison Hills. The school system’s safety plan is tied to the level system, but for them orange does not represent a change as far as in-person versus remote learning,” he said.

Rhome said Level 2 recommends residents avoid contact with anyone who is considered high-risk, decrease in-person interactions outside the household, seek medical care as needed but limit or avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals, nursing homes and residential care facilities to see others as much as possible. These recommendations are in addition to those at Level 1.

Rhome said Harrison County is one of only five counties in Ohio that are not considered “high incidence” counties, meaning the five counties have fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 residents. Harrison County, with a population of just 15,040 people, has an incidence rate of 66.5 per 100,000.

Belmont County also is among those five counties. It has an incidence rate of 83.6 per 100,000 with the state listing 56 cases from Oct.14-27 and a population of 67,006.

The other three counties are Ashtabula, Meigs and Huron.

“Let’s work together to keep this trend from impacting Harrison County any more than it already has — for our schools, for our elderly, for our vulnerable friends and family and for each other,” Rhome said.

As of Friday, Harrison County has a total of 92 confirmed cases, 74 recoveries and four deaths since the outbreak began. The county has 14 active cases.

Monroe County is one of only two counties in the state to remain at Level 1, or yellow, on the advisory system. The other yellow county is neighboring Noble County.

As of Friday, Monroe County has a total of 197 confirmed cases, 137 recoveries and 16 deaths, according to local health officials. There are currently 44 active cases in the county.

“We’ve got 44 active cases. We’re high occurrence, but we don’t meet the other criteria to cause us to go to orange,” Linda Masters, administrator of the Monroe County Health Department, said.

The state reported different numbers for Monroe County, as has often been the case throughout the pandemic. According to coronavirus.ohio.gov, Monroe County has 192 total cases since March, 105 recoveries and 18 deaths, putting the number of active cases at 69.

Monroe is listed as a high incidence county, with an incidence rate of 344.2 per 100,000. The state lists a case count of 47 from Oct. 14-27and a population of 13,654. Noble County has a slightly higher incidence rate at 346.6 per 100,000.

Masters said Monroe County has received notice of more cases in the past two weeks than during the entire pandemic.

“It’s higher than it’s ever been. In the last two weeks, we’ve got more cases than we’ve had since the beginning of the pandmeic,” she said.

The county’s positive cases are due to community spread and are found throughout the county, she said. There is no particular hotspot or concentrated area of infection.

“It’s community spread, it’s everywhere,” she said. “In the beginning we had a lot of cases. They were all located in one facility, but these are not. These cases are all over the county. You’re more in danger of exposure than you’ve ever been.”

Masters said she is glad the county remains in the yellow category; however, she is concerned residents may think that they no longer need to follow safety and prevention guidelines.

“I think our citizens think, ‘We’re great,’ and don’t take the mask wearing seriously.” she said.

The Monroe County Health Department is urging residents to continue to wear a facial covering in public, use hand sanitizer often and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.

“Be careful over Halloween. I know everyone wants to be out doing Halloween activities, but we encourage them to wear (protective) masks, use hand sanitizer and limit gatherings,” Masters said.