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Coronavirus: DeWine releases new health advisory system map

By WHIO Staff
By WHIO Staff

Gov. Mike DeWine is briefing Ohioans this afternoon on the state’s continuing efforts to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, it is expected that the state’s Public Health Advisory System map will be updated and several counties could be added to or dropped from the mandatory mask order.

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The following announcements have been made:

  • Dr. Andrew Thomas, Chief Clinical Officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center, discussed the Public Health Advisory System and compared it to a weather warning. The idea is the system will provide data prior to problems arriving and allow for a response, similar to how a Severe Thunderstorm Warning works when issued.
  • Thomas said five of the seven indicators are better indicators of how prevalent the virus is in the community. Those indicators are new cases per capita, sustained increase in new cases, proportion of cases that are not congregate cases, sustained increase in emergency room visits and sustained increase in outpatient visits. The other two, including hospitalizations and ICUs, are lagging indicators.
  • Thomas said there is no “green” color in the Public Health Advisory System, because no matter where you live there is a risk of contracting coronavirus. A vaccine would be what might change that, he said.
  • A $20 million grant program has been established for 68 manufacturers through the state to help businesses build supply chain of personal protection equipment. Small and medium-sized manufacturers will receive up to $500,000 to retool or expand existing facilities in Ohio, construct new facilities, purchase equipment, or upgrade technology. This will help add over 829 jobs and retain 1,133 jobs at these businesses.
  • Miami and Greene counties rose to Level 2 Orange this week under the Public Health Advisory System.
  • Butler County was dropped out of Level 4 watch, but remains at Level 3 Red, requiring a face mask in public. The county is still seeing a rise in cases, but at a slower pace than last week.
  • Montgomery County remains under a mandatory mask order under Level 3 Red.
  • The only county in Ohio on Level 4 watch is Athens County. “The situation here has rapidly accelerated with isolated outbreaks that have resulted from a concerning community spread. Local health officials report at least 3 outbreaks at local bars, all of which have temporarily closed due to staff cases,” DeWine said.
  • Allen County, which borders Auglaize County, has jumped to Level 3 Red after seeing a surge in 76 cases over the last two weeks. “This is not just from increased testing, as more and more Allen County residents are seeking care from their doctor and from the ER for COVID-19 symptoms,” DeWine said.
  • DeWine applauded retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, who have issued mandatory mask orders in the last day for customers and employees.
  • DeWine said he was optimistic of what he’s seen in the last week in Hamilton County, previously under a Level 4 watch, after local health officials reported that numbers may be plateauing. However, indicator data remains at a high level, and the number of people seeking medical care has increased two and a half times over the last three weeks in that county.
  • DeWine said when one person tests positive that accounts for one case regardless of how many times that person tests positive.
  • The governor said he’s concerned with the trend lines and the impacts it may have on schools and universities. He said the next few weeks will be crucial to seeing what decisions schools make. “It’s not going to take an order from Mike DeWine,” he said.

LATEST PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY SYSTEM LEVELS:

  • 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. Currently, Auglaize, Logan, Champaign, Darke, and Shelby counties are at this level.
  • 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. Currently, Preble, Mercer, Miami, Greene Clinton, Warren and Clark Counties are at this level.
  • 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. Currently, Butler and Montgomery Counties are at this level.
  • 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 current counties on this list but Hamilton and Butler counties are on the watch list.

DeWine issued a stern warning to Ohioans in a statewide address Wednesday evening on the current state of the pandemic, the recent increases in cases and the spread of the virus.

DeWine made the following points in his address:

  • Ohioans need to take immediate action to slow the spread of coronavirus, he said, or risk falling into the same category with Florida, Arizona, California and Texas in a matter of weeks.
  • DeWine said he will take whatever action he needs to protect citizens in the state, but would not be discussing any new health orders. “That discussion is for another time,” he said. “But orders are not as important as what we all do in the days ahead. The future is in our own hands.”
  • The governor praised Ohioans’ efforts at the beginning of the pandemic to bide Ohio’s medical providers and manufacturers time to produce the equipment needed to be prepared for a rise in cases.
  • Ohio is seeing its hospitalizations approaching the same numbers the state saw at the pandemic’s peak in April and May. The Dayton region however, is seeing the highest number of hospitalizations since the coronavirus arrived in the state, DeWine said.
  • DeWine said testing in the state has gone up 87 percent, but the number of positive cases has grown by almost 200 percent. “Clearly, our number of new cases is not just the result of increased testing,” he said.
  • DeWine discussed a quote from an article written yesterday by John Berry, who wrote “The Great Influenza about the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918,” that paints a grim picture if Ohioans don’t slow the spread. The quote read: “This is our second chance. We won’t get a third. If we don’t get the growth of this pandemic under control now, in a few months, when the weather turns cold and forces people to spend more time indoors, we could face a disaster that dwarfs the situation today.”
  • DeWine called the coming weeks a “defining time” for Ohioans and their efforts to slow the spread of the virus. “This is not a drill,” he said. “It’s the real thing.”
  • The governor issued a plea to Ohioans to wear a face mask. “I am asking you, wherever you live, to wear a mask when in public. Some may question the wisdom of masks, but as we said when I was a prosecutor: ‘The jury is back. The verdict is in.’ There is broad consensus in medical, health, and business communities that masks are critical,” DeWine said. Within a couple of weeks of people consistently wearing masks, areas saw a slowdown of the spread of the virus, he said of data from health experts.
  • DeWine admits he, like many, have let their guard down when it comes to the virus. “We’re tired. We want to go back to the way things were – and that’s very understandable. But when our guard is down, we’re playing Russian Roulette with our lives,” he said.

Things you need to know today, Thursday:

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LATEST STATE DATA: As of Thursday afternoon, there have been at least 70,601 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 3,103 deaths, and 9,324 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 48,330 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, 7.3% are from Ohio’s prisons.

Of the state’s positive cases, 16.1% 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 1,084,732 people have been tested in Ohio, which is about 9.2 percent of the population.

In the state, 8,590 cases are health care workers, which is 12 percent of the cases.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

Other things you should know today, Wednesday:

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