Lakewood City Council President Tests Positive For COVID-19

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood City Council President Daniel O'Malley tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

O'Malley is currently quarantining, but his symptoms are mild, he told Patch. He missed Monday night's City Council meeting. He will have a virtual visit with doctors on Tuesday.

In an email to Patch, O'Malley said he has a sore throat and chest congestion, but no other symptoms. He said he is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot.

"I received my booster shot at Neighborhood Family Practice in Lakewood on Friday, December 10. Getting the booster shot was an easy way to keep myself healthy and ensure that if I did get COVID-19, I wouldn’t be adding to the overwhelming number of patients in hospitals and ICUs," O'Malley said.

Northern Ohio is in the midst of an unprecedented COVID-19 surge. The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth, among other hospital systems, have repeatedly urged Ohioans to get vaccinated in recent weeks. They warn that their capacity is increasingly strained by the influx of COVID-19-positive patients.

"There are more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before — the overwhelming majority of which are unvaccinated," University Hospitals said on Friday. They urged everyone to get a vaccine, or their booster shot, as soon as possible, and to follow commonsense safety protocols like social distancing and wearing a mask in public.