Geauga Public Health is reporting a confirmed case of measles in a person who may have exposed others at more than a half-dozen public locations in Geauga and Lake counties between November 2 and November 7, according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s report on the health district’s alert. Anyone at the listed sites at the listed times should check their vaccination status and watch for symptoms, which can appear seven to 14 days after exposure, sometimes as late as 21 days.
The longest exposure window involves Berkshire Middle School in Burton, where, according to Geauga Public Health’s list as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal, people may have been exposed from Monday, November 2, through Thursday, November 5, from about 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. The same Burton campus hosted the Berkshire Local Schools fall choir concert on Tuesday, November 3, from about 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., and Kent State University’s Geauga Campus in Burton was listed for Tuesday, November 3, from about 3:30 to 7 p.m.
Other Geauga County sites on the list are The Hambone in Chardon, during dinner hours on Tuesday, November 3, and Thursday, November 5. In Lake County, the list includes SPC Sports in Mentor on Friday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Longhorn Steakhouse in Mentor on Friday, November 6, from about 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and University Hospitals Urgent Care Concord in Concord Township on Saturday, November 7, from 5:54 to 8:48 p.m., according to the Beacon Journal’s report.
The Ohio Department of Health is reporting 310 cases in 25 counties so far in 2026, according to its November 5 dashboard update, as cited by the Akron Beacon Journal — nearly six times the 45 cases reported in all of 2025. Most of Ohio’s cases are among unvaccinated people, per the department.
Measles can linger in the air for up to two hours where an infected person coughed or sneezed, and infected people can spread it from four days before a rash appears through four days afterward, according to Ohio Department of Health information summarized by the Akron Beacon Journal. Symptoms include a rash starting at the hairline, high fever, runny nose, cough and red, watery eyes; complications such as pneumonia are most common in young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97 percent effective against measles, according to the Ohio Department of Health, and both the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say vaccination is the best protection. In a July 30 statement reported by the Beacon Journal, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff called the outbreaks unfortunate because the disease is preventable, and urged Ohioans to get vaccinated.
Residents who were at any of the seven listed locations during the exposure windows — especially those unvaccinated or unsure of their status — should contact Geauga Public Health or their health care provider, and anyone who develops symptoms should call ahead before visiting a clinic so staff can limit further exposures.