COLUMBUS – Nearly half of the people in central Ohio responding to a new poll say they know someone who has caught the coronavirus.
According to the Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 45% of voters in central Ohio say they personally know someone who has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, slightly higher than the 42% of voters statewide who said they knew someone who had tested positive.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Ohio continues to be higher than earlier this month. The Ohio Department of Health reported Wednesday state that there were 632 new confirmed and probable cases, bringing the total number of cases since the outbreak began in March to 46,759 with 2,755 deaths.
Bouyed by an overall positive view of his handling of the pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine has seen his approval rating soar. An overwhelming majority of Ohio voters – 75 percent — approve of the job DeWine is doing, the highest for an Ohio governor since 2007, poll analyst Tim Malloy. Seventy-seven percent approve of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Sixty percent say DeWine’s lifting of restrictions is “about right” while 19 percent say he did not move quickly enough to reopen the state’s economy.
Seventy percent of Ohioans think it’s likely that there will be another wave of infections that will cause businesses in the state to close again.