I was just watching an animation that showed the spread of COVID per capita the other day. IIRC Columbus's county is in the middle of the state, and Cleveland's is in the area under the southmost part of the coastline.

The whole state was doing more or less okay until their governor lifted the ban. Those two counties were blue, while the counties surrounded them started to turn orange (blue was low rates, red was highest rates).

It not only spread faster through a less populous area, they spread it to the major metro areas that had miraculously somehow been doing halfway decently prior to the governor telling the counties it was their responsibility and washing his hands of the matter. (sounds like a real coward)