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Throughout the week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was
joined by Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and provided updates on Ohio's
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other state
initiatives.
On Tuesday, Governor DeWine announced that hospitals across Ohio are
currently treating 1,221 COVID-19 patients which is the most
hospitalized patients at one time since the start of the pandemic. A
total of 216 of these hospitalizations were reported in the previous
24 hours which is the highest number of hospitalizations reported in
a single day and more than 50 hospitalizations more than the
previous high in mid-July.
Ohio is also recording an increase in ICU admissions and
ventilator utilization.
Hospitalizations
"So far, Ohio's hospitals still have adequate remaining capacity to
care for everyone who is sick, but our hospitalizations are already
breaking records, and we are not seeing any signs of Ohio's case
numbers slowing down," said Governor DeWine. "If we don’t buckle
down, wear our masks, and take care of each other, I am very
concerned that our hospitals will begin to fill up. We pushed this
virus down before, and it's up to all of us to do it again."
Ohio also reported 2,015 new COVID-19 cases since Monday, October
19. Sixty-nine of Ohio's 88 counties have a high incidence of
COVID-19 spread, meaning their rate of cases is more than 100 cases
per 100,000 population in the past two weeks.
SOCIAL GATHERINGS
The White House Coronavirus Task Force strongly recommends that
Ohioans limit gatherings with family and friends to prevent the
virus from spreading to those most at risk of complications. The
recommendation follows the increase in community spread in Ohio
initiated by small social gatherings.
"It’s the same thing I’m hearing when I speak with county health
commissioners. They are seeing the most spread in Ohio from informal
gatherings," said Governor DeWine. "We can’t let our guard down; we
must keep our masks on."
Governor DeWine also urged caution for sports fans who gather this
weekend to watch the Ohio State, Browns, and Bengals football games.
$1.3 BILLION GOING TO OHIO BUSINESSES
Dividend checks from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation will be
mailed to employers beginning this week. The dividend amount totals
approximately $1.3 billion.
The money is being given back to employers in response to Governor
DeWine's request in August that the Ohio BWC Board of Directors
approve a second dividend to provide financial support for public
and private employers impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
These checks will be mailed to employers throughout the end of
October.
A wide-ranging program to address the needs of struggling Ohioans,
including funding for rent, mortgages, and water and sewer utility
bills, as well as funding for small businesses and nonprofits, will
be announced in the near future.
OHSAA UPDATE
Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided an update from the Ohio High School
Athletic Association (OHSAA) on the status of high school fall
sports.
OHSAA Observers have attended 458 sites, including 600 football
games, at least 50 volleyball matches, and at least 50 soccer
matches over the course of eight weeks.
The OHSAA provides reports to the schools following the competitions
to serve as an educational opportunity for the school to improve.
LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY DASHBOARD
Ohio's new long-term care facility dashboard is now available at
coronavirus.ohio.gov. The new dashboard outlines visitation
information at nursing facilities across the state. Those with loved
ones in a nursing facility can search for information by county or
facility to find information on the types of visits that are offered
and when they are permitted. Nursing facilities were permitted to
allow indoor visitations beginning October 12.
Details regarding the visitation guidelines for Ohio’s intermediate
care facilities can be found in a public health order issued on
September 24. Visitation at intermediate care facilities was
permitted to resume on September 28.
VACCINE PROVIDER REGISTRATION
Governor DeWine announced that Ohio has submitted its Interim Draft
COVID-19 Vaccine Plan to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The plan is a framework on how Ohio will proceed once a
vaccine is available. The plan will be available tomorrow at
coronavirus.ohio.gov.
The Ohio Department of Health will also be launching a new
registration tool for health care providers who would like to
eventually administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Providers, such as local
health departments, hospitals, pharmacies, and nursing facilities,
will be notified soon with instructions about how they can register.
TEST RESULT REPORTING
The Ohio Department of Health has developed a technology solution to
allow their systems to track negative test results. In response,
Interim Director of Health Lance Himes amended a directive that now
requires all labs to start sharing all positive, negative,
inconclusive, and invalid test results related to COVID-19 tests
with the Ohio Department of Health.
Previously, labs were reporting positive COVID-19 results at the
individual level and as an aggregate count for all other test
results.
"Adding these categories will allow us to gather additional data for
a more complete picture of how COVID is spreading in our
communities," said Governor DeWine. "This will also allow us to
provide positivity data by county in the coming weeks."
FLU SHOTS
Governor DeWine once again urged Ohio citizens to get their flu
shots this year. A person can become infected with both the flu
virus and coronavirus at the same time.
If you become ill this season, many healthcare providers will test
for both flu and COVID-19 to get a proper diagnosis. While the
symptoms can be similar, COVID-19 is more serious, its symptoms last
longer, those hospitalized tend to have longer hospital stays, and
the virus has a higher mortality rate.
FluCovid
Also on Tuesday, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 8. House Bill 8,
sponsored by Representatives Susan Manchester and Tavia Galonski,
modernizes foster care training by offering greater flexibility to
respond to foster caregiver needs, as well as helping to better
recruit and retain foster parents.
On Thursday, Governor DeWine released Ohio's updated Public Health
Advisory System map. New health data compiled by the Ohio Department
of Health found that 38 counties currently have a very high risk of
exposure and spread (Red Level 3), up from 29 counties last week.
This represents the highest number of Red Level 3 counties since the
launch of the advisory system in July. As of today, 92.8 percent of
Ohioans are living in a county that is Red Level 3 and/or high
incidence. Only 1 percent of Ohioans live in a Yellow Level 1
county.
"For my fellow Ohioans who have felt that until now this virus
really did not impact their lives or their families and that they
would react when the situation got really serious - I say to them
that the time is now. Now is the time to take this seriously," said
Governor DeWine. "We need you. We need you to be fully engaged in
this battle. The virus is spreading fast and has penetrated deeply
into virtually every county in the state. We all must fight back."
updatedmap
Three counties are currently on Ohio's Watch List, meaning that they
are approaching Purple Level 4: Clark, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton
counties.
Since the previous day, an additional 2,425 new COVID-19 cases had
been reported, the highest number of new cases in any 24-day
reporting period since the start of the pandemic. Of the top 10 days
with the most newly reported cases, eight occurred over the recent
9-day span, and nine have occurred in October.
According to local health departments across the state, spread is
primarily occurring during social and family gatherings. Many
counties are also seeing a sustained increase in hospitalizations.
A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19 in
all of Ohio's 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Health
Advisory System's website.
Hospital
DON'T LET UP
Governor DeWine unveiled a new advertisement that will begin airing
across the state to serve as a visual reminder of how quickly
COVID-19 can domino out of control.
PSA
FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie virtually joined
Thursday's public briefing to discuss his recent diagnosis with
COVID-19. Governor Christie spent a week in ICU fighting the
disease.
Governor Christie said, in part:
"I thought I was safe, and I was wrong. I took my mask off, and I
left it off, but only for the time that I was inside the White House
gates. Three days later I began to feel what I call the freight
train of symptoms that happen with COVID-19 - fever, headaches,
incredible body aches, chills, sweats, and it overcame me in a
period of 24 hours. I had gone from feeling fine and doing my work
on a Friday afternoon to by Saturday at 1:00 being admitted to the
hospital and taken immediately to the intensive care unit where I
stayed for the next six and a half days.
"I want everyone to understand that this is one of the most
unpredictable, random, and brutal viruses you'll ever see. My
message to the people of Ohio and the people of this country is that
there is no place to hide from this virus if you are not going to
take the common-sense steps recommended to us: wear a mask when
you're outside, remain socially distant from people, no big crowds,
and wash your hands frequently.
"I just want to urge as many people as I can, don't let your guard
down. It's not worth it. I made a huge mistake by taking that mask
off. It's something I hope no other Americans have to go through.
"One of the things I think people don't understand about this
disease - because it's so random and because so little is understood
- is that when you're there and going through it, the psychological
effect it has on you is significant. You start to think about life
and death. It's like getting beaten up from the inside out, and that
combination of physical and psychological stress - it's unique in my
life and pretty extraordinary.
"I know how tired everyone is of this, I felt it myself, but as
tired as you are of strapping that mask on or going to the sink and
washing those hands again - you will take those days in a heartbeat
compared to getting this disease."
Governor Christie's full interview is available on the Ohio
Channel's YouTube page.
#DaytonMASKots
Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced the launch of the “Dayton MASKots”
campaign facilitated through the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce to
slow the spread of the coronavirus while supporting Ohio sports.
This campaign challenges team mascots around the region and state to
“mask up” and post a picture of their mascot with a mask on. This
could be for a K-12 school, college or university, or other sports
team.
Ohioans can use the hashtag #DaytonMASKots to join this effort.
APPRENTICEOHIO
The Lt. Governor also announced that Ohio recently received two
RAPIDS apprenticeship rankings: number four in the U.S. for number
of apprentices and number one among the 28 states with state
apprenticeship systems.
Ohio offers apprenticeship opportunities in traditional fields such
as construction and manufacturing and in non-traditional
apprenticeship fields such as IT and healthcare. ApprenticeOhio
programs provide full-time work during the training period as well
as decent wages – so Ohioans can earn while they learn.
More information can be found at Apprentice.Ohio.gov.
Also on Thursday, Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 163. Senate
Bill 163, sponsored by Senator Stephanie Kunze, creates 33 new
specialty Ohio license plates to raise awareness and funding for
Ohio nonprofits, universities, and local schools. The bill also
allows for proration of registration costs for hybrid and electric
vehicles.
On Friday, Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted announced that
the administration, in partnership with the General Assembly, is
developing a package of more than $419.5 million CARES Act funding
to help Ohioans. This package includes funding for small businesses,
restaurants and bars, hospitals, higher education, arts, nonprofits,
and low-income Ohioans impacted financially by the pandemic.
“We know that Ohioans are hurting, and the needs are great. We must
do what we can to help them through this crisis,” said Governor
DeWine. “Providing financial support to small businesses, the arts,
and nonprofits will help them keep the doors open and Ohioans
employed. For Ohioans in need, this assistance will help them stay
in their homes, which can make all the difference.”
CARES
As of Friday, there are 192,948 confirmed and probable cases of
COVID-19 in Ohio and 5,184 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A
total of 17,866 people have been hospitalized, including 3,682
admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by
visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit
coronavirus.ohio.gov or call
1-833-4-ASK-ODH.–30–
MEDIA CONTACT:
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