Wood County Health Department has released local guidance for continuing to work together as a community to stay healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This information relies on four guiding principles and explains how they can be applied to aspects of everyday life. The principles are: Welcome your neighbor; Support one another; Keep your healthy habits; and Stay engaged.
“With most of Ohio’s pandemic health orders ending on June 2, we knew that people in our community would have questions,” said Benjamin Robison, Wood County Health Commissioner.
“We think the values we’re promoting can help people understand how they can approach things like mask wearing and other healthy behaviors once they’re no longer mandated.”
The four guiding principles can be applied generally by everyone, and are also explained in a way that they can be used by families, businesses and organizations, and for children and other people who can’t be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Guidelines for everyone include:
- Welcome your neighbor: Each person who lives or works in Wood County is a member of our community, regardless of vaccination status or mask use. We must be as committed to each other as we are to putting this pandemic behind us.
- Support one another: Be considerate and think about the needs of the people around you. Be willing to hear each other and recognize that people’s decisions may be motivated by different reasons than your own. Rather than focusing on differences, which could lead to divisions, consider how to build each other up.
- Keep your healthy habits: Vaccination opens new opportunities to protect yourself and others from COVID. Those remaining unvaccinated can fight the disease by continuing the habits that have kept us safe over the last year. Everyone should continue to monitor for symptoms and talk to your doctor if you could have COVID.
- Stay engaged: Continue to check trusted sources, like the Wood County Health Department, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for the latest information on how to stay safe and healthy. Being well informed will help us to stay ahead of COVID and position us for the best-possible recovery from the pandemic.
Go to www.Coronavirus.WoodCountyHealth.org to access information and resources, including application of these principles for businesses, organizations and events; home and family life; and kids and others who can’t be vaccinated.
The mission of Wood County Health Department is to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect the health of everyone in Wood County. Our Community Health Center provides comprehensive medical services for men, women and children. We welcome all patients, including uninsured or underinsured clients, regardless of their ability to pay, and we accept most third-party insurance. For more information, visit www.WoodCountyHealth.org.
