COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference today, giving an update on all things coronavirus in the state. It is expected to be his last until after Christmas.
DeWine was joined by his wife Fran and also Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, who talked about how Ohioans could keep the spread of coronavirus down during the holiday season.
“We can’t afford to let the virus spread in Ohio get worse,” Vanderhoff said. “We can’t let our guard down. Our holidays just have to be different this year. We have to protect ourselves and those we love.”
DeWine also announced the next groups of people who would have access to the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio. That includes older Ohioans, age 65-plus and also school districts.
The goal, DeWine said, is to get kids back in school by March. “[But] we’re not going to be vaccinating children,” DeWine clarified.
“We will also begin offering vaccines to younger people with severe inherited or developmental disorders that make them particularly vulnerable, for example, Sickle Cell or Down Syndrome,” DeWine said.
The Ohio Department of Health also released the state’s latest coronavirus numbers Wednesday afternoon.
There have been 644,822 total confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in the state since the pandemic began, which includes an addition of 7,790 cases reported today, along with a total of 8,361 deaths (including 109 additional fatalities reported today).
The total number of hospitalizations due to the virus since the pandemic began is now 36,025 people. The median age of those Ohioans getting coronavirus is now 43 years old.
New hospitalization numbers are now at 431 inpatients, and 52 in the ICU in the last 24 hours. About 479,387 people are presumed to have recovered from the illness.
Here are the Ohio counties with the most coronavirus cases:
- Franklin: 77,807
- Cuyahoga: 64,653
- Hamilton: 48,185
- Montgomery: 32,974
- Summit: 25,647
And here are the Ohio counties with the most coronavirus deaths:
- Cuyahoga: 874
- Franklin: 695
- Lucas: 531
- Summit: 495
- Hamilton: 409
After making its own travel advisory list, coronavirus testing in Ohio indicates the situation may be getting better, it was announced today.
Last Wednesday Ohio had a 17% positivity rate, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
The current 7-day average is 13.8%.
Ohio issues weekly travel advisories for any state with a 15% positivity rate or higher.
The positivity rate indicates how widespread coronavirus is in a particular area.
The new advisory list will be released Wednesday afternoon.
