Author: Ben Axelrod

As he does each Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine revealed the latest map for the state’s coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Advisory System.

RELATED: More coronavirus coverage from WKYC

And when he did, it had significant news for Northeast Ohio.

In particular, Summit County, Medina County, Stark County, Portage County and Richland County have now reached a Level 4 ‘purple’ coronavirus risk level — the highest level listed on Ohio’s Public Health Advisory System. A county is labeled Level 4 ‘purple’ when a county meets six of the seven indicators for two consecutive weeks and denotes “severe exposure and spread” of the coronavirus.