COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Franklin County Public Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola released a statement Thursday saying every resident of the county ‘should be very concerned’ about the transmission of COVID-19 in the community. 

“What each one of us does can tip the scales in one direction or the other. Right now, what we are doing is tipping it in the wrong direction,” Mazzola said. “If the current trends continue, we could see over 10,000 cases a day in Ohio in a matter of weeks.”

Mazzola added that in Franklin County, the number of new cases per day has increased nearly five fold.

“The current number of cases are already taxing our public health system and we are very troubled about what may be around the corner as we enter the holiday season,” Mazzola said.

He added many new cases are coming from informal social gatherings in which people are not wearing masks and not social distancing.

“For now, please don’t go to gatherings of any size with people outside of your household,” he said. “These types of gatherings are also where we are identifying many of these cases. We ask you now to stay home more, not just when you are sick.”

Franklin County is now on the watch list and is at risk of becoming purple or level 4 in the state’s coronavirus alert system.

Meanwhile, more than 75% of Ohio counties are level 3 (red) in the state’s latest coronavirus advisory map.  

“Our hospitals are filling up. Our employers are having trouble keeping staff on the job. Our schools are finding it challenging to keep educating our kids,” Mazzola said. “We are all tired and want to get back to normal. But there is still more work to be done before we get there. Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to keep going.”