COLUMBUS – A statewide curfew that limited Ohioans’ activity and closed many businesses overnight for three months to stop the spread of COVID-19 was allowed expire Thursday as the number of patients in hospitals remained below 2,500 for the 10th day in a row.
Governor Mike DeWine promised that if the number of current hospitalizations remained below 2,500 for seven straight days as of Thursday, he would lift the curfew, which he rolled back by one hour two weeks ago when the number dropped below 3,500.
“We hope this stays down, we always hope it stays down. We’ve learned a lot in this past year and one of the things we’ve learned is you never know exactly what this virus is going to do,” he said when announcing the end of the curfew during his Thursday coronavirus briefing.
The curfew officially ended at noon Thursday.
The state Department of Health reported there were 1,862 patients being treated for COVID-19.
On Jan. 28, DeWine said if the number of current hospitalizations remained below 3,000 for seven days, the start time of the curfew would roll back from 11:00 p.m. to midnight. It had been in effect from 10:00 p.m. since it was instituted three months ago.
A total of 48,269 Ohioans have been treated in hospitals for the disease since the pandemic began.
Currently, fewer than 7% of the state’s hospital beds are occupied by coronavirus patients.
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The state has lifted a ban on self-serve salad bars and banquet lines as long as customers wear face coverings, there is hand sanitizer available, the serving line is at least six feet away from seated diners.
The order took effect at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
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The major hospital chains in central Ohio are loosening up their visitation restrictions this month.
OhioHealth, OSU Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel Health System all announced they would start allowing one visitor per patient.
Mount Carmel’s new policy will go into effect on Friday, OhioHealth’s on Monday and OSU’s new policy will go into effect on Feb. 23.
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A total of 931,437 Ohioans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 2,806 new cases reported Thursday. There were 70,802 active cases.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate is 6%.
The state says 1.1 million individuals have received the first of two vaccine doses and started and 348,247 have completed the vaccination process, 3% of the state’s total population.