Gov. Mike DeWine said he expects to present data Thursday that show a trend in “R naught” cases involving the coronavirus in the Dayton region he considers concerning.
Montgomery County public health officials also echoed their concern about rising numbers in the county.
“Public Health (Dayton & Montgomery County) also has a concern about the rise of cases here in Montgomery County. We’re trying to make those cases stay level and then drop off. Right now, they’re still going up and that is a concern," said Public Health spokesman Dan Suffoletto.
“R naught,” is a mathematical term that indicates how contagious an infectious disease is, according to Healthline and other online sources. It’s also referred to as the reproduction number. As an infection is transmitted to new people, it reproduces itself.
R naught tells you the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from one person with that disease. It specifically applies to a population of people who were previously free of infection and haven’t been vaccinated.
The R naught calculation is showing an increase, the governor said, and he intends to bring evidence of that increase when he meets with reporters at the Statehouse on Thursday.
Montgomery County said they have had the rising numbers on their radar even before DeWine mentioned it during his Tuesday press conference.
““We do believe that because businesses are opening back up people are moving around more. They’re coming into contact with more people that is raising the number of cases here in Montgomery County,” Suffoletto said. "We want to make sure people still take COVID seriously. They still have to take precautions. Because just because businesses are opening doesn’t mean COVID has gone away.”
Things you should know today, Wednesday:
- Ohio lawmakers introduced legislation to give school districts control over reopening
- More COVID-19 cases have turned up in Springfield, at Navistar and elsewhere
- An 8th Miami County corrections officer has tested positive for COVID-19
- Officials at Kings Island and Cedar Point announced their reopening dates and safety protocols.
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LATEST STATE DATA: As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been at least 39,575 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 2,457 deaths, and 6,693 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
Of the state’s positive cases, 12.4% are from Ohio’s prisons. At those prisons, there has been an increase in testing.
[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]
There have been 499,019 people tested for coronavirus in Ohio. In the state, 5,858 cases are health care workers, which is 15 percent of the cases.
It is important to note the number of confirmed cases is not a true reflection of actual cases in the state because of the limited amount of testing available. The hope is that the number of cases will be more accurate because of the expansion of the testing standards.
Other things you need to know today: