COLUMBUS – As Ohio reported an eighth straight day of more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19, Gov. Mike DeWine outlined a battle plan for slowing down the third spike in cases and preventing another widespread shutdown of schools and businesses.
He encouraged Ohioans to wear masks, maintain social distance and avoid gatherings to keep the coronavirus at bay and, though he said there were no plans to shut down the state again, nothing was “off the table.”
“If we don’t do this and if we don’t fight this battle county by county, city by city, village by village, if we do not fight in that way, we will, one way or the other be shut down, and we will be shut down because the spread will be so bad,” DeWine said.
He also asked Ohio businesses to allow employees to work from home, when possible, remind employees of the ways they can stop the spread of the virus, and require customers to wear masks.
DeWine also called on community leaders to assess the impact of the outbreak in their communities and to work together to determine what they need to do and set goals.
He said he and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will begin talking with community leaders Wednesday by telephone to develop strategies, starting with Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Clark counties, the three counties on the “watch list,” in danger of being the first to be elevated to Level 4 on the state’s Public Health Advisory system, meaning they would be experiencing “severe exposure and spread.”
All but six of Ohio’s 88 counties meet the federal government’s definition of “high incidence,” which is more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the last two weeks, DeWine said during his televised coronavirus briefing Tuesday. The state has seen 202,740 confirmed and probable cases since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
He said much of the increase in cases is as a result of community spread in private groups, such as family gatherings, and has not been as a result of cases in businesses, bars or restaurants.
DeWine reminded Ohioans of the fundamental ways to stop the spread of the virus — wear a mask when out in public, in a store or with friends; keeping six feet apart from others; washing hands often; and keeping buildings well-ventilated.
He added that Ohioans should reconsider their plans for gathering to watch sporting events, such as Ohio State football, as well as holiday parties to contain the spread of the disease before it threatens nursing homes, schools and other facilities.
“When it goes up and is at as high a levels as we’re seeing in many counties today, it threatens our K-12 schools. When it goes up, it threatens ultimately our hospitals,” he said.
Although medical officials have said Ohio’s hospitals have plenty of capacity to spare currently, the number of patients treated in intensive-care units throughout the state is at the highest rate since the beginning of the crisis. De Wine says that, while indicators show the state has not yet reached the peak of hospitalizations, ICU utilization has doubled since the beginning of October.
The state reported an additional 198 hospitalizations on Tuesday and 22 more deaths, bringing the total to 5,239. A total of 1,406 Ohioans were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 Tuesday.