Gov. Mike DeWine has raised Clark County to a “Level 3” or “Red” in the state’s pandemic alert system, citing an increase in average new daily cases from about five at the beginning of July, to about 12, according to the newest numbers.
Clark County health officials said that while no single outbreak is fueling a recent spike in coronavirus cases, it’s clear Fourth of July played a role in the surge, News Center 7′s Sean Cudahy reports.
In Clark County, Over the past 14 days, 113 coronavirus cases have been identified, representing 12% of the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Saying he was concerned about the flare-up of COVID-19 in Florida, President Trump has canceled the Florida portion of the GOP convention, which is scheduled to begin in Jacksonville on Aug. 24.
“The timing is not right, with the flare-up of COVID-19,” he said. He made the announcement during his this White House task force briefing this week on the federal government’s response to the pandemic.SPONSORED CONTENTSamsung
Delegates will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, as planned to nominate him and the president said he will deliver a convention speech “in a different form.”
Thursday evening marked the start of Gov. Mike DeWine’s statewide mandatory mask order.
Highlights from the governor’s Thursday news briefing on the state’s response to the pandemic:
This Week’s Public Health Advisory Levels (counties)
- Logan, Darke and Shelby are at Alert Level 1 (Yellow): This level means a county has triggered zero or one of the indicators, and there is an active exposure and spread.
- Preble, Mercer, Champaign Auglaize, Miami, Greene, Clinton, Warren, Butler and Clark are at Alert Level 2 (Orange): This level means a county has triggered two or three indicators and there is an increased risk of exposure and spread. Counties at this level are seeing cases that are growing in the last two weeks.
- Clark and Montgomery are at Alert Level 3 (Red): This level means a county has triggered four or five indicators, and there is a very high exposure and spread. Risk is very high.
- Hamilton and Butler are on the watch list for Alert Level 4 (Purple): The highest level means a county has triggered six or seven indicators, and there is severe exposure and spread. Officials say to stay home as much as possible when in this level. There are no counties currently on this list.
- From June 15 through July 18, the Red Cross reported that 33,538 Ohioans donated blood, plasma or platelets. Of these, 436 tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies – that’s a 1.3% positivity rate.
- The Red Cross reported that nationwide, the positivity rate among donors was 1.4%. It’s important to remember the Red Cross data does not represent all parts of the state equally. For example, Cincinnati and the Dayton area are served by two independent blood banks.
- From June 15 through July 18, hospitals and private labs performed 37,803 antibody tests for Ohioans with 1,624 positives. That’s a higher positivity rate than the Red Cross sample. “But these individuals sought out antibody testing and may have done so because they suspected they may have had COVID-19 at some point,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.
- $50 million from state funding through the federal CARES Act will be allocated to providing hot spots and internet-enabled devices to students. Schools can apply for a matching grant from the state. For every dollar they put toward connecting in-need students to the internet, the state will match and double purchasing power, Husted said.
- DeWine said the vast majority of bar owners are doing a good job following the protocol, based on inspections by agents. But “we do know of outbreaks in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Athens, Henry County, Lawrence County, Medina County, and Sandusky County that have been traced back to bars,” he said.
Things you should know today, Friday:
- DeWine also has imposed a travel advisory to-and-from nine states. The advisory will be updated weekly and include states reporting positive testing rates of 15 percent or higher. Individuals traveling to-and-from those states will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Organizers in Wayne County, Indiana, announced a mask distribution event will be held Saturday at three locations in Richmond.
Other things you should know today:
- Outbreak at Newark, Ohio, nursing home kills 11
- Second stimulus check could be as big as the first
- Meatpackers sue OSHA over safety
- Police arrest Florida man who pulled gun on masked shopper at Walmart
LATEST STATE DATA: As of Friday afternoon, there have been at least 81,746 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 3,297 deaths, and 10,072 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 56,823 people are presumed to have recovered from the virus in the state.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
Of the state’s positive cases, 6% are from Ohio’s prisons.
Of the state’s positive cases, 15% are from long-term care facilities (nursing homes, assisted living)
[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]
The state reported that a total of 1,263,191 people have been tested in Ohio, which is about 10 percent of the population.
In the state, 9,476 cases are health care workers, which is 12 percent of the cases.
[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]