Health

One person may have spread measles at seven sites in Geauga and Lake counties

Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio • November 13, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

A health care worker holds up a vial of measles vaccine while holding a toddler

Photo: StockFood

A person with a confirmed case of measles visited seven public locations in Geauga and Lake counties from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7 while contagious, Geauga Public Health said Wednesday, warning anyone who was at those places to watch for symptoms through Nov. 28.

The exposure sites include Berkshire Middle School in Burton, where the person was present over four consecutive school days, the Kent State University Geauga Campus, two restaurants, a school choir concert, a sporting goods store and an urgent care clinic. The times listed by health officials include the two-hour window after the person left each location, since the measles virus can linger in the air.

According to Geauga Public Health, people may have been exposed at: Berkshire Middle School, 14155 Claridon Troy Road in Burton, Monday Nov. 2 to Thursday Nov. 5, from about 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.; Kent State University Geauga Campus, 14111 Claridon Troy Road in Burton, Tuesday Nov. 3, from about 3:30 to 7 p.m.; The Hambone, 13960 Rock Creek Road in Chardon, on Tuesday Nov. 3 and Thursday Nov. 5 during evening dinner hours; the Berkshire Local Schools fall choir concert in Burton, Tuesday Nov. 3, from about 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; SPC Sports, 9431 Mentor Ave. in Mentor, Friday Nov. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Longhorn Steakhouse, 9557 Mentor Ave. in Mentor, Friday Nov. 6, from about 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and University Hospitals Urgent Care Concord, 7500 Auburn Road, Suite 1200, in Concord, Saturday Nov. 7, from 5:54 to 8:48 p.m.

Symptoms usually appear seven to 21 days after exposure, so anyone who was at those locations could develop symptoms between Nov. 9 and Nov. 28, health officials said. Measles symptoms include a rash, high fever, runny nose, cough, loss of appetite and red, watery eyes. The virus can live for up to two hours in air where an infected person coughed or sneezed, and people can spread it from four days before through four days after a rash appears.

Statewide, the Ohio Department of Health is reporting 310 measles cases in 25 counties so far this year, according to its most recent infectious diseases dashboard update on Nov. 5. That is nearly six times the 45 cases reported in all of 2025. The vast majority of cases in Ohio are among unvaccinated people, the department said.

"It's unfortunate that these outbreaks have become more common in Ohio over the past few years, because this disease is preventable," Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said in a statement this summer. "I strongly encourage you to protect yourselves and your children by getting vaccinated." Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97% effective against measles, the department reports.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed six measles-related deaths in the United States this year, according to the agency's website on Thursday, Reuters reported. The toll comes as a Pan American Health Organization panel reviews whether the United States has lost the measles-free status it has held since 2000, after more than 5,100 confirmed cases this year.

Sources: Akron Beacon Journal, "1 person may have spread measles at a half-dozen sites in Ohio" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); City of Mentor, "Measles Exposure Reported in Mentor" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); Lakeshore Views & News, "Measles exposures reported in Geauga, Lake counties" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); Reuters, "US CDC confirms six measles-related deaths in 2026" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified).