Message from the Mayor

Message from the Mayor

 

04/09/2021

Health Commissioner Covell reports that our city had 2 positive cases of Covid-19 last week. There were 85 new cases in Lorain County. These numbers are down significantly compared to our last surge, but we are experiencing a slight increase right now.
 
Mr. Covell reports that the vaccination effort is still going strong and 1/3 of all county residents have now received at least the first dose of the vaccine.

03/09/2021

Health Commissioner Covell reports that we had 23 new cases of COVID-19 this week, which is up from 18 last week. The county numbers are down slightly to 184 compared to 187 last week. He also reports that “vaccines are flying off the shelf”. Those age 50 and over are eligible for the vaccine starting on Thursday. Good news.

To schedule an appointment, please visit: www.LorainCountyHealth.com/Signup

Additionally, all veterans who are VA eligible, regardless of age, or medical conditions are now eligible for vaccinations through the VA. For more information, please visit: www.Cleveland.VA.gov/services/covid-19-vaccines.asp


3/3/2021

Health Commissioner Covell contacted me to let me know that our city had 18 new positive cases of COVID-19 identified in the past week and the county number was 187. Those numbers compare to 22 for Avon Lake the week before and 272 for the county. He hopes that we will fall back to the orange designation for Lorain County either this week or next. We are moving in the right direction.

 


2/23/2021

Health Commissioner David Covell reports, “We had 22 new cases of COVID-19 in Avon Lake last week and 272 in the county. That is under the high incidence number which means we may go orange next week. Vaccines continue to roll out. We have vaccinated over 60% of our 80+ year olds and are approaching 15% of the population of the county."


2/3/2021

David Covell informed me this afternoon that our city had 19 new COVID-19 cases last week. The week before we had 50 reported. We had 278 cases last week in Lorain County compared to 820 the week before. Very good news. Giant Eagle, Walgreens and Drug Mart are offering shots to customers as they have a limited number of doses of vaccines each week. Their numbers are: Giant Eagle 440-933-9598, Walgreens 440-930-5873, Drug Mart 440-933-2327 or you can go to their websites to make an appointment. Phase 1b is the category being served and it includes those over 65 years old and people with severe congenital, developmental or early onset conditions.


1/27/2021

Health commissioner Covell reports that Avon Lake had 50 new COVID-19 cases last week, a small increase. The week before there were 47. The countywide number of cases was 820 compared to 737 the week before. Over 1,900 Lorain County residents over the age of 80 were vaccinated on Saturday despite running out of serum. More vaccinations are scheduled for this week including anyone over 80 who did not receive a shot and also those over 75 years old and those with certain medical conditions. Contact the Lorain County Health Department for more information.


1/20/2021

Health Commissioner Covell reports that our city experienced 47 new cases of COVID-19 last week compared to 64 the week before. The county total was 737 last week compared to 1,136 compared to the week before.

City buildings are closed to the public but residents can conduct business with city government by making an appointment to meet with city officials by email or phone.


1/12/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell reports that our city had 64 new cases of COVID-19 last week. This is a slight increase compared to the average of just under 60 for the past three weeks. The county’s total of new cases was 1,136 which is up a little, possibly due to the holiday. Mr. Covell expects that the 1b group, which opens vaccinations up to 80 year olds and up, will begin next week. Governor DeWine will announce this in his coming news conference this week. If you have registered for a shot notification you should be getting an email with the details soon. If you wish to register to be placed on the vaccination notification list go to Lorain County Health Department on how to proceed.


1/6/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell has resumed the COVID-19 report after giving his hardworking employees two weeks off during the holiday. He reports that over the past three weeks our city has had 178 new cases of COVID-19. That is an average of just 60 cases per week. The county numbers for the three weeks is 2,817. Both numbers are trending downward. For the previous three weeks our city’s number for new cases were 102, 120 and 106. That number comes to 328 for the same length of time. For the county the numbers were 1,248, 1,478 and 1,438 for the previous three weeks.

The vaccine is being administered in the county. Slowly but surely.


12/31/2020

I contacted Health Commissioner David Covell about the weekly COVID-19 report. We had not received a report since December 16th. He told me that he had given his staff two weeks off from breaking down the numbers for individual cities as they have been working hard on things like contact tracing and other duties as the numbers had been going up. The city reports will resume next Tuesday.


12/16/2020

David Covell has informed me that the number of new positive cases in Avon Lake last week was 106. There were 120 the week before. The number of new positive cases in Lorain County is 1,305. We had 1,438 the week before.

The first vaccine is arriving next week and EMS workers and group homes will be vaccinated over the next two weeks.

12/9/2020

I received a report from Health Commissioner David Covell late today that our number of positive cases last week was 120. This is up from 102 cases the week before. The number of positive cases in the county last week was 1,438 which is slightly lower than the week before when it was 1,478. Mr. Covell anticipates that the county will remain in the purple category. We have some tough weeks ahead of us. Stay safe.


12/2/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell reported today that the number of positive COVID-19 cases for Avon Lake from last week was 102. The number of positive cases the week before was 134. Countywide, the number of positive COVID-19 cases was 1,478 last week. The week before the number was 1,248. He believes that our county will remain purple and several other counties around us will be moving into the purple category.


11/25/2020

Discouraging news. Health commissioner David Covell reported this evening that our count of positive cases last week was 134. The total for the county was 1,248. The county number along with other factors such as hospitalizations has now placed Lorain County in the purple category. The timing during Thanksgiving and the holiday season could not be any more unfortunate.

Please follow the rules: social distancing, the washing of hands, the wearing of masks and limit the number of people at your holiday table to immediate family. Be safe.


11/19/2020

Health Commissioner Covell has been very busy meeting with various groups such as hospital administrators, mayors, safety forces, etc. as the numbers of positive COVID-19 cases rise. Here is his delayed his report.

The number of positive cases in our community has risen to 88 for last week. The week before the number was 46. The previous week the number was 23. As for the number of people testing positive in Lorain County the number from last week was 944. The numbers from the previous week was 533. The week before that it was 328.

We are in a critical period of this health crisis. With Thanksgiving coming next week we need to seriously assess how and with whom we will be spending the holiday.


11/11/2020

Sad news. Health Commissioner Covell reports that our city had 46 new cases of COVID-19 last week compared to 23 the week before. The county number was 533 last week compared to 328 the week before. We are saddened that an 89 year old person has died from the virus. We mourn the loss.

Mr. Covell reports that hospital staffing and hospital beds are a concern.


11/4/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell texted the numbers from last week to me a yesterday evening. We had 23 new cases reported which is up from 9 the week before. The county numbers were 328 as opposed to 217 the week before. We need to be committed to following the protocol of washing hands, social distancing, masks, etc.


10/27/2020

The health commissioner, David Covell reported we had 9 new cases last week and the county had a total of 217. Lorain County will stay in the RED this week. To read the detailed county data report visit: https://www.loraincountyhealth.com/data. Scroll down to the The Community Level Data headline and you will find a detailed report about our city and other cities in Lorain County.


10/22/2020

I see a post on Facebook inquiring about Trick or Treat. The person is asking if the event is “set in stone.”  At a meeting with health commissioner David Covell yesterday I asked about what a red rating for the county would do to Trick or Treat. He comment to the mayors and managers at the Zoom call that the event is safe if people are mindful of wearing masks, hand washing and social distancing. Mr. Covell stated that it is fairly safe and infinitely better than a Halloween House party.  

If parents or homeowners are not comfortable with the event they should not participate. Turn off your porch light and parents keep your children at home if you do not feel safe.


10/21/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell reports that our city had 13 new cases of COVID-19 last week. Our numbers over the past several weeks were 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and now 13 new cases. The corresponding numbers for Lorain county are 51, 49, 61, 67, 92 and now 150 new cases. We are heading upward. Please be reminded to wash your hands frequently, practice social distancing and refrain from being part of a large group of people. As we head toward the holidays we must not be lax in our efforts to beat the virus.


10/14/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell texted me this morning and reported that we had 8 new COVID-19 cases in our city last week. The Lorain County numbers are up, as there were 92 new cases last week. He also reported that a 54 year old person from Avon Lake has died. We mourn this loss.
 
A total of 15 residents have died from COVID-19 since March.

10/7/2020

Health commissioner David Covell reports that we had 7 new cases last week. The numbers for our city in the past four weeks have been 2, 4, 5 and now 7. The county wide numbers for the past four weeks have been 51, 49, 61 and 67. These numbers are fairly stable and Mr. Covell attributes this to the schools doing such a fine job dealing with COVID-19. Impressive.


9/30/2020

David Covell informed me that Avon Lake had five new COVID-19 cases last week. The numbers are still flat and the schools around the county are doing well.


9/22/2020

Commissioner Covell has reported that the number of COVID-19 cases for our city is four for last week. This once again is good news.


9/16/2020

Health commissioner David Covell informed me that we had two new cases of COVID-19 last week. The numbers are coming down.


9/09/2020

Health Commissioner Covell informed me that we had five new cases of COVID-19 in our community last week. The week before we had eight. The number in the county declined from 86 to 49. This is good news.


9/01/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell informed me there were 8 new COVID-19 cases in Avon Lake in the last week.

Lorain County Public Health also gave us the numbers from the Avon Lake Pop-up COVID-19 Community Based Testing event held August 19th - 20th, detailed in the chart below. Overall, 1,129 tests were conducted, with 31 positive (new cases). Of the positive cases, 15 were from Lorain County, and 5 were from Avon Lake. All of these were included in the numbers reported last week. For more information, visit: www.LorainCountyHealth.com/data

The Ohio National Guard and Lorain County Public Health employees were very professional and proved to be dedicated to their jobs. Our city employees also added to the near perfect event. The Avon Lake Police Department assigned 5 officers to the event, the Public Works Department employees had the site all laid out, and the Digital Media Department informing people of the event and what to expect. This was a real team effort.

 


8/25/2020

We had 14 new COVID-19 cases in Avon Lake last week. We do not as yet have information about the results of the two days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday. I will inform you as soon as I receive the information. Lorain County Health Commissioner, David Covell reported that the Lorain County weekly number dropped to 84 county wide which is half as many as the week before. He expects that we will drop from the RED category down to ORANGE either this week or next.


8/20/2020

We had nine new cases last week. This brings our total up to 191 for our community.

Note: The testing event has not impacted today's health advisory re-classification of Lorain County, as results have not yet come in and the levels are based on 7 different parameters. For more info about the health advisory system, visit: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/public-health-advisory-system


8/11/2020

David Covell reports that our city had 14 new cases of COVID-19. Most of them were residents in their 20’s.


8/5/2020

David Covell reports that we have once again had 19 new cases of COVID-19. Most of the cases are between 18-40 years old. That trend continues. Our total of positive cases now totals 168.

We regret to inform you that a COVID-19 patient has died. She was 93 years old. The total number of persons who have died from COVID-19 related illness is now at 14 for our city.


7/29/2020

David Covell informed me today we had 19 more residents with COVID-19. Most of them are young people in their 20’s. The Lorain Health Department will be posting data that breaks down the cases by age on their website soon.


7/22/2020

Health Commissioner Covell reported this morning that our city had 19 more cases of COVID-19 last week. About half were from people in their 20’s. We had no new cases from long term care facilities and no deaths.

Please note that “most cases are coming from family gatherings where people are letting their guard down”, according to Health Commissioner Covell.

This brings our total of cases up to 130 for the year. We need to observe social distancing and wear masks. If we hope to have schools open, hope to visit restaurants and other small businesses and have some semblance of normality, we need to be more observant of these basic rules.


7/14/2020

There were 14 positive tests for COVID-19 in Avon Lake last week. Most of them are in their 20’s. This makes our total at 111 persons. Unfortunately, a 90 year old man who had COVID-19 earlier in the year passed away. Our total deaths are now 13. Lorain County had 152 total cases last week. Numbers are definitely up.


7/9/2020

Today, Governor DeWine announced Lorain County's health advisory status changing to level 3, as part of the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The mayors of Lorain County will meet with Health Commissioner David Covell tomorrow (07/10/2020) at 3pm to discuss this. After this meeting, we will make an announcement regarding the new policies and requirements. For more information about Ohio's Public Health Advisory System.


7/7/2020

Health commissioner Covell has reported that Avon Lake had three more positive cases last week. Two are in their 20’s and one is a medical worker. This brings our total number of cases to 97.

Unfortunately, one of the previous cases, aged 98, passed away. We mourn the loss. This brings the number of deaths to 12.


6/30/2020

Health commissioner Covell informed me today that we had five more positive cases last week. Four are residents in their 20’s and one resident is a health worker, age 53. The younger ages are consistent with numbers around the state and nation. Very concerning.


6/26/2020

The major annual event, Big Trucks, which was scheduled for September 19 has been canceled. The uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 makes the event problematic in many ways. It is truly a hands-on event with kids climbing on and in various large vehicles from the police, fire and public works departments from Avon Lake, Lorain County and the Cleveland area. With many hands touching the same surfaces it would have been a challenge trying to keep the many surfaces sanitized. The interactive nature of the events has always been a major part of the experience and much of what people most enjoyed would have to be curtailed if the event were to go on as scheduled.

The likelihood of securing vehicles and the participation of various organizations from the county would have also been a challenge in the current environment. A popular attraction has always been the arrival and departure of the helicopters from several hospitals in the area. As we all know, hospitals are financially hard pressed after the challenge of dealing with the many COVID-19 patients during the previous four months. With over 2,000 people attending, the practice of social distancing would not be able to be followed and the complimentary hot dog lunch would not be part of the event.

The city of Avon Lake looks forward to resuming Big Trucks in 2021.


6/23/2020

David Covell reports that we had five new COVID-19 cases last week. One was in a nursing home. Two were medical workers and two more other residents tested positively.


6/16/2020

Health Commissioner David Covell reported this afternoon that we had 10 new cases last week. Two of the cases are mild and the 26 year old and the 50 year old are recovering at home. There were 8 asymptomatic cases at a nursing home, that tested a whole wing due to an illness of a worker.


6/9/2020

Health commissioner David Covell informed me that we had no new COVID-19 cases in the past week. This is very good news. We still need to be cautious as so many people interacted recently without complying with social distancing rules. Time will tell.


6/2/2020

David Covell texted the weekly report on COVID-19. We had four residents test positive. The county is averaging about four per day.

Testing is becoming more available and the four who tested positive in Avon Lake are ages 22, 35, 50 and 39. All are recovering at home and doing well. They are considerably younger than those who tested positive in the past.

This brings our total in the city to 72.


6/1/2020


5/27/2020

I reported at the council meeting that there were four more positive cases of the coronavirus. That brings our total to 68. David Covell reported that 35 of those were from Main Street Towne Center. (Correction: the webmaster posted incorrect information previously)


5/21/2020

I did not receive a message from David Covell on Tuesday. If there had been any positive cases of Covid-19 in the past week, he would have informed me.


5/14/2020

David Covell announced that the COVID-19 reports will now be sent to county mayors once a week which will be every Tuesday afternoon. This is due to the decline in positive tests for the virus.


5/12/2020

David Covell reported that we have no new cases for today. Unfortunately, he informed me that another person who tested positive in the past has died. This is the 11th death from COVID-19 in our city. We mourn the loss.


5/10/2020

I am pleased to inform you that we have not had a positive test for COVID-19 since last Wednesday. Let’s hope that it continues for many days.


5/6/2020

We have one more person test positive for the coronavirus. The total is now 63.


5/5/2020

Mr. Covell reported that there were no positive cases today. However, I regret to inform you that there was one death reported due to the coronavirus. The person had previously tested positive.


5/4/2020

Mr. Covell reported that a medical worker has tested positive for the corona virus. The person is resting at home.


5/3/2020

David Covell reported that there was one positive case on Saturday and one more on Sunday. The Sunday case is a younger male who is recovering at home. No EMS was involved in either case.


5/1/2020

Two hours after I videotaped a report for our web page yesterday Dave Covell informed me that we had another positive test. We had recorded five positive cases in the past 10 days. In the previous 10 days we had 20 positive tests. Quite an improvement.

In today’s report a 63 year old woman tested positive. She is recovering at home. Also, Mr. Covell texted that we have no new cases but a 69 year old female who previously tested positive passed away. We are saddened by her loss. Nine people have now died in our city from the coronavirus.


4/30/2020


4/26/2020

There were no new corona virus cases on Friday. I was inform of two new cases on Saturday and I did not receive a call from David Covell today which means that there were no new cases for Sunday. The total is now 58.


4/23/2020

Once again, Mr. Covell has informed me that we have one more person test positive for the COVID-19 virus. That brings our total to 56.


4/22/2020

The report for April 22 is: one more positive test. The total is 55.


4/21/2020

David Covell texted me today and the report for April 21 is one person has tested positive for COVID-19. The total for those who have tested positive is 54.


4/20/2020

There are no new cases to report. Unfortunately, a 73 year old man passed away from the virus.


4/19/2020

Sunday update: one more person has tested positive. Total is now 53.


4/18/2020

David Covell reported last night that two more residents tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. One is a 38 year old healthcare worker who is recovering at home. Today, Mr. Covell reported that we once again have two positive cases. One is a 16 year old. With two new cases for each day, we now have 52 total cases in our community.


4/16/2020

Yesterday, David Covell reported to me that we had one more positive case of the coronavirus, a 59 year old male who is recovering at home. Today, Mr. Covell informed me that we have five new cases in Avon Lake. One is a 43 year old male who is recovering at home. I regret to inform you that three people from the community have passed away. They all are males. Their ages were 89, 83 and 90. We have recorded 48 people test positive over the past four weeks and seven residents have died.

In a conference call today with Dr. Rebecca Stark, head of the Avon Cleveland Clinic, and mayors from Lorain County and several from Cuyahoga County, the possible opening up of some parts of our economy was discussed. It was stated that there needs to be more testing before businesses can realistically re-open. The governor’s cautious approach was acknowledged. Social distancing and the wearing of masks will likely be required as we move forward.


4/14/2020

Over the last two days Lorain County Health Commissioner Dave Covell reported to me six new cases of the coronavirus. The number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic is now 46. I am sorry to share such sad news.


4/13/2020

Over the weekend I received a call from Main Street and was informed that there are now 21 patients at that facility who have tested positive. That number would include the person commissioner Covell reported to me on Friday.

Mr. Covell contacts the mayors of Lorain County at around 4:00 p.m. each work day. I expect a revised report at that time.


4/10/2020

Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Dave Covell texted me with his daily report. Two more people have tested positive. One person at the Main Street facility has tested positive for the coronavirus and a 49 year old man has also tested positive. The man is recovering at home. The nursing home, in their statement yesterday, said that they had 17 residents who have tested positive for the virus. They now have 18. The total in our community is 40.


4/9/2020


4/8/2020

David Covell reported to me that we have 12 additional cases of people who tested positive for COVID-19. One is a 53 year old man who has been hospitalized. We now have a total of 34 cases. I regret to inform you that one of our first people to test positive, a 93 year old man, has died.


4/7/2020

Another call and more bad news. Mr. Covell called and informed me that we have three individuals test positive for the corona virus. They all are residents of Main Street at Towne Center. Two women and one man. I do not know if any have been hospitalized. Our total is now 22.


4/6/2020


4/4/2020

David Covell just texted me that we have three more cases. A female in her 60’s and two males in their 50’s have tested positive for the coronavirus. The men are medical professionals. All have mild cases and they are recovering at home.

The total is now 19 from Avon Lake. Residents are asked to comply with the hand washing, etc.


4/3/2020

David Covell called to inform me that we have another positive case. A 42 year old male is recovering at home. This is our 16th person to have been tested positive. It is important to observe the protocol: wash your hands, observe the six foot rule, cover your mouth if you need to sneeze or cough and limit your trips to essential ones.


4/2/2020


3/30/2020

Commissioner David Covell called and informed me that we have two more residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus. I am sorry to inform you that an 82 year old female went to the hospital and, while she was being tested, died from the virus. Our hearts go out to her family. A second female aged 42 tested positive and she is being treated at home. Her case appears to be mild. Both individuals were not transported by our EMS team.

The total is now 14. Keep in mind that there are other residents who have the symptoms of the virus, and under doctor’s care, have been told to quarantine themselves and have not been tested. Commissioner Covell has argued that keeping a total based on zip code creates a false sense of security in other areas that have a lower count. It can be very dangerous to assume that they are in less danger of coming down with the virus. Again, wash your hands, maintain a six foot social distance, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and limit your activity outside the home.     

We will get through this.


3/30/2020


3/29/2020

We have had another person test positive for the coronavirus. I received a call from David Covell today and he said that it is a woman in her 40’s and is a family member of a previous case. She is in quarantine at home and has a mild case. We now have 12 cases in the community. Please advise residents to limit their activities to essential trips outside the home, maintain a safe social distance of six feet or more, wash hands frequently, etc.


3/27/2020

I just got off the phone with commissioner David Covell of Lorain County Public Health. He informed me that we have three new cases, all females. They are ages 29, 67, and 47. All are in quarantine at home. This brings our number of residents who tested positive to 11. One is in the hospital.


3/27/2020

After consulting with several members of the administrative team, I have ordered the public works department to close additional areas in our parks. We were hoping that some facilities or areas could stay open as our residents need places to go to get exercise. However, it has become apparent that a warm day like yesterday will bring out large numbers of residents (and non-residents) and one of the fundamental rules that has been implemented by the governor is not being complied with. People are not staying at least six feet apart. This puts us all in jeopardy.

For the safety of our residents the following  facilities are closed:

  • Playgrounds 
  • Basketball Courts (the hoops have been removed)
  • Skatepark
  • Tennis/Pickleball Courts
  • Dog Park

Keep in mind that the parks are still open. Residents are encouraged to get out and walk or run as long as they comply with the six foot rule. The pavilions are still open and may be used if all safety rules are followed. The restrooms are still closed. Communities in the area that may have already opened their restrooms are closing them for the duration.

I talked to superintendent Scott this morning and he is implementing changes in the use of school facilities as well.

We will be evaluating the use of our facilities on a regular basis and will make additional changes if it is warranted.


3/26/2020

I was informed by health commissioner, David Covell, this afternoon that another resident has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The man is in his 90’s and is the eighth person from Avon Lake who has tested positive. This resident has been hospitalized.


3/25/2020

Police Chief Duane Streator has informed me that a second police officer has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The officer works as a patrol officer and was tested for symptoms. He is at home and in quarantine. It is important to note that the officer is not an Avon Lake resident and will not change our count of the number of people who have tested positive. Our count remains at seven. He will be counted in the municipality in which he resides.


3/24/2020

We have two more persons who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Once again, I don’t know the gender nor the ages. And, once again, the names and addresses are not released to the public. The first two cases will soon be coming off the list as they are in their 11th day.  We will be notified when that happens.

Residents are once again reminded to wash their hands, comply with the social distancing rule of six feet, clean common surfaces regularly and minimize activity outside of your home. And take your temperature daily especially if you are going into work at an essential business.


3/23/2020


3/22/2020

The Lorain County Health Commissioner, David Covell, informed Mayor Zilka that there are five cases of COVID-19 in Avon Lake as of today. The first case was reported on Wednesday. All five are in quarantine at home and each case has been vetted by the health department to determine if anyone they may have been in contact with needs to be sequestered. This process has been completed based on the the Center for Disease Control guidelines.

Residents are advised to follow the advice of the county health department and the state of Ohio Department of Health to restrict contact with others, wash their hands and sanitize their immediate surroundings. Follow the governor’s order to stay at home from work beginning Tuesday unless involved in an essential business.

The mayor has been in regular contact with health commissioner Covell and will participate in a conference call with Mr. Covell and mayors from Lorain County at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. He will address the residents of Avon Lake tomorrow in a taped message that will be posted in the city’s website sometime in the afternoon.