COLUMBUS, OH (7/7/2020) – Gov. Mike DeWine announced the Ohio Department of Health will issue a public health order requiring face masks in public in seven counties where the spread of COVID-19 is considered most severe.

Hamilton, including the Village of Golf Manor, Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Huron, Montgomery and Trumbull are all considered “red alerts” under the state’s Public Health Advisory System, and exhibit “very high exposure and spread” of COVID-19.

“The law is a teacher and the law helps establish the norms in society, and that’s what we hope happens in these seven counties,” DeWine said Tuesday.

The health orders take effect 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8. Face masks remain optional, but highly encouraged, for Ohio’s 81 other counties.