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OHIO COVID-19 Update: Take This Seriously and Don't Let Up
Oct. 23, 2020: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Administration
provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY:
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 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:
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 the
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."
#DaytonMASKots:
Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced the launch of the “Dayton
MASKots” campaign facilitated through the Dayton Area
Chamber of Commerce to slow the spread of the coronavirus while
supporting Ohio sports. This campaign challenges team mascots
around the region and state to “mask up” and post a picture of
their mascot with a mask on. This could be for a K-12 school,
college or university, or other sports team.
Ohioans can use the hashtag #DaytonMASKots to join this effort.
APPRENTICEOHIO:
The Lt. Governor also announced that Ohio recently received two
RAPIDS apprenticeship rankings: number four in the U.S. for
number of apprentices and number one among the 28 states with
state apprenticeship systems.
Ohio offers apprenticeship opportunities in traditional fields
such as construction and manufacturing and in non-traditional
apprenticeship fields such as IT and healthcare. ApprenticeOhio
programs provide full-time work during the training period as
well as decent wages – so Ohioans can earn while they learn.
More information can be found at Apprentice.Ohio.gov.
CURRENT COVID-19 DATA:
There are 190,430 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in
Ohio and 5,161 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total
of 17,682 people have been hospitalized, including 3,657
admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be
accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today's full update, including versions with foreign
language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio
Channel's YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or
call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
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