COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine says an order requiring masks to be worn in public may include “a lot more counties” next week as COVID-19 continues to spread in the state.
“While we did a great job early on in Ohio, we are now headed in the wrong direction and, frankly, I’m very, very concerned about that,” DeWine said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
He said he is still considering a statewide mask mandate. On Thursday, the Republican governor ordered Ohio residents in 19 counties including almost 60% of the population to wear a mask in public.
DeWine said the increase is occurring in bars, churches and out-of-state travel “but a lot of it, frankly, is just people in casual settings, 20, 30, 40, 50 people gathering together.”
This weekend, The Ohio Department of Health reported two of the three largest one-day increases in new cases since the pandemic began: 1,679 new cases on Friday was the highest daily total so far and another 1,542 cases were added Saturday, the third-highest daily total.
The state reported 1,110 new cases Sunday and 1,236 more on Monday for a total of 76,168 since the pandemic began with 3,189 deaths.
With 51,860 people presumed recovered from the disease it is estimated that 21,119 Ohioans are currently battling COVID-19.