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“Sadly our situation continues in Ohio to worsen” Governor Mike DeWine said in the opening to his Thursday COVID-19 Update News Conference.
Governor DeWine today released Ohio’s updated Public Health Advisory System map. New health data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health found that 38 counties currently have a very high risk of exposure and spread (Red Level 3), up from 29 counties last week. This represents the highest number of Red Level 3 counties since the launch of the advisory system in July. As of today, 92.8 percent of Ohioans are living in a county that is Red Level 3 and/or high incidence. Only 1 percent of Ohioans live in a Yellow Level 1 county.
“For my fellow Ohioans who have felt that until now this virus really did not impact their lives or their families and that they would react when the situation got really serious – I say to them that the time is now. Now is the time to take this seriously,” said Governor DeWine. “We need you. We need you to be fully engaged in this battle. The virus is spreading fast and has penetrated deeply into virtually every county in the state. We all must fight back.”
Three counties are currently on Ohio’s Watch List, meaning that they are approaching Purple Level 4: Clark, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton counties.
In the past 24 hours, an additional 2,425 new COVID-19 cases have been reported, the highest number of new cases in any 24-day reporting period since the start of the pandemic. Of the top 10 days with the most newly reported cases, eight have occurred in the past nine days, and nine have occurred in October.
According to local health departments across the state, spread is primarily occurring during social and family gatherings. Many counties are also seeing a sustained increase in hospitalizations.
A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19 in all of Ohio’s 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System’s website.
DON’T LET UP
Governor DeWine unveiled a new advertisement that will begin airing across the state to serve as a visual reminder of how quickly COVID-19 can domino out of control.
FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie virtually joined today’s public briefing to discuss his recent diagnosis with COVID-19. Governor Christie spent a week in ICU fighting the disease.
Governor Christie said, in part:
“I thought I was safe, and I was wrong. I took my mask off, and I left it off, but only for the time that I was inside the White House gates. Three days later I began to feel what I call the freight train of symptoms that happen with COVID-19 – fever, headaches, incredible body aches, chills, sweats, and it overcame me in a period of 24 hours. I had gone from feeling fine and doing my work on a Friday afternoon to by Saturday at 1:00 being admitted to the hospital and taken immediately to the intensive care unit where I stayed for the next six and a half days.
“I want everyone to understand that this is one of the most unpredictable, random, and brutal viruses you’ll ever see. My message to the people of Ohio and the people of this country is that there is no place to hide from this virus if you are not going to take the common-sense steps recommended to us: wear a mask when you’re outside, remain socially distant from people, no big crowds, and wash your hands frequently.
“I just want to urge as many people as I can, don’t let your guard down. It’s not worth it. I made a huge mistake by taking that mask off. It’s something I hope no other Americans have to go through.
“One of the things I think people don’t understand about this disease – because it’s so random and because so little is understood – is that when you’re there and going through it, the psychological effect it has on you is significant. You start to think about life and death. It’s like getting beaten up from the inside out, and that combination of physical and psychological stress – it’s unique in my life and pretty extraordinary.
“I know how tired everyone is of this, I felt it myself, but as tired as you are of strapping that mask on or going to the sink and washing those hands again – you will take those days in a heartbeat compared to getting this disease.”
ACTIVE CASES IN THE REGION: Some area health departments report an active case county for their county daily, others up to three times per week on their social media platforms or department websites. (Note: Ross County does not report a count of active cases.) These are the active cases as of the date reported, which total 1,074 an increase of 47 since our report on 10/19/20.
FAIRFIELD: 423 (10/22) +29
FAYETTE: 85 (10/21)-22
HIGHLAND: 93 (1021) -15
HOCKING: 15 (10/22) +7
JACKSON: 86 (10/22) +1
PICKAWAY: 67 (10/22) -13
PIKE: 31 (10/21) -8
ROSS: No report
SCIOTO: 252 (10/22) +65
VINTON: 22 (10/21) +3
CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS:
Statewide as of 2pm ET Thursday, October 22, 2020 (difference since Wednesday at 2pm ET): Ohio has 190,430 (+2,425) total COVID-19 cases with 155,181 (+1,412) presumed recoveries, 17,682 (+159) hospitalizations and 5,161 (+12) virus related deaths.
Cases by county in the Scioto Valley Region since the count began in March 2020: (Data compares Wednesday’s Report with Thursday’s from the State’s COVID-19 dashboard which show 150 new cases (9,739 since March) in the 10 county region over the last 24 hours, the most being in Ross County (+33), Fairfield County (+28), Scioto County (+22), Pickaway County (+17), Highland County (+13), Jackson County (+12) and Pike (+10) with 0 new deaths reported. There have been 4 new hospitalizations (787 total since March). See the updated Ohio Public Health Advisory System Code map here: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/public-health-advisory-system)
FAIRFIELD, (ORANGE/Level 2): 2,644 cases (+28), 2,209 recoveries (+21), 196 Hospitalizations (+0), 57 deaths (+0).
FAYETTE, (RED/Level 3): 449 cases (+9), 289 recoveries (+13), 54 Hospitalizations (+0), 8 deaths (+0).
HIGHLAND, (RED/Level 3): 430 cases (+13), 245 recoveries (+7), 38 Hospitalizations (+0), 4 deaths (+0).
HOCKING, (YELLOW/Level 1): 197 cases (+3), 167 recoveries (+2), 31 Hospitalizations (+0), 9 deaths (+0).
JACKSON, (ORANGE/Level 2): 459 cases (+12), 289 recoveries (+9), 41 Hospitalizations (+0), 8 deaths (+0).
PICKAWAY, (ORANGE/Level 2): 3,011 cases (+17), 2,679 recoveries (+19), 123 Hospitalizations (+0), 46 deaths (+0).
PIKE, (RED/Level 3): 300 cases (+10), 226 recoveries (+9), 31 Hospitalizations (+1), 0 deaths.
ROSS, (RED/Level 3): 1,394 cases (+33), 972 recoveries (+28), 171 Hospitalizations (+2), 36 deaths (+0).
SCIOTO, (RED/Level 3): 859 cases (+22), 569 recoveries (+15), 88 Hospitalizations (+1), 9 deaths (+0).
VINTON, (ORANGE/Level 2): 96 cases (+3), 53 recoveries (+3), 15 Hospitalizations (+0), 3 deaths (+0)
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