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There are now at least 2,199 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Ohio with 55 deaths, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Six of the confirmed deaths are from the Miami County . In Ohio, 585 people suffering with COVID-19 have been admitted to hospitals.

The state has a population of approximately 11.6 million people.

Coronavirus: Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health

Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference on the state’s response to coronavirus at 2 p.m.:

The following announcements were made:

JobsOhio is providing a $2 million growth fund to Appalachian Growth Capital. This announcement is part of JobsOhio’s new strategic initiative to provide more economic development funds to areas of hardest hit by the economy. AGC provides small business financing in the 32-Appalachian Counties of eastern and southern Ohio.
Dr. Acton issuing an order to help the state keep track of where ventilators are, how many the state has access to, so if there is a shortage they can be moved around. The order requires weekly on-line reporting of these devices by any entity in the supply chain, from creation through end use. Examples are manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, transporters, distributors, retailers, physicians, clinics, hospitals, and medical facilities.
Along with mechanical ventilators, other devices to be reported are C-PAP and B-PAP machines commonly used to treat sleep apnea, as well as anesthetic machines and various treatment masks and tubing.
Battelle and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have jointly developed a new rapid, sensitive diagnotic COVID-19 test. The new test will allow for fast turnaround time on test results.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said he is asking Ohio Jobs and Family Services and private vendors to increase capacity on unemployment website and also hire additional people to take phone calls. “Your voices are being heard and they are being acted on,” Husted said of the complaints they have received.
Ohio has tested 29,191 people for coronavirus.
429 of the positive cases in Ohio are healthcare workers, which accounts for 20 percent of the positive cases in the state.
Acton said the state has empty hospital beds, but she called it the “calm before the storm.”
Battelle processed its first 3,500 N95 masks through the sterilization system it created to assist in reusing PPE, Husted said.
The state is expected to provide an outline to build out hospital capacity for each region in Ohio on Wednesday, DeWine said.
A projection curve used by the Ohio Department of Health from The Ohio State University projected Ohio to have 448 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. New state data shows Ohio came in under the COVID-19 projection with 266 new cases, according to data released at 2 p.m.

Coronavirus Pandemic: Projection Curve (whio)

Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County provided an update about 4 p.m.

Here are the highlights:

Communities in Montgomery and Greene counties are doing a very good job in practicing social distancing, officials said, but more needs to be done
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County is prepared to take to the prosecutor’s office businesses not in compliance with the essential business mandates (stay and home and workplace social distancing)
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley encourages everyone to stay home Wednesday, April 1, and fill out the 2020 census online
Coroner’s offices in Montgomery and Greene counties are in talks with coroner’s offices throughout Ohio, and the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, about how to handle COVID-19 fatalities should the expected surge occur

President Donald Trump and the coronavirus task force held a press briefing about 5 p.m.

Here are the highlights:

The White House is projecting 100,000 to 240,000 deaths from the virus if every American does everything they should be doing
The White House is holding back close to 10,000 ventilators for use in places that will need them, President Trump said. “When the surge occurs, if it occurs, we’ll be able to move them faster”
Trump said 11 companies are now making ventilators
Governors should not be bidding against themselves for ventilators, Trump said. “There are some hospitals that think they need ventilators. We don’t think they do."

Here’s what you need to know:

Area hospitals have implemented new visitor restrictions effective Tuesday. They include no visitors with exceptions to the following areas:

Maternity patients: One (1) support person.
One (1) person will be allowed to accompany a patient having major surgery on day of surgery and one day after surgery.
End-of-life situations
Minor patients (<18 years old) may have two (2) visitors, but visitors are limited to only parents or guardians.
Patients who require assistance due to mobility, reorienting/confusion, interpretation, court-ordered, or healthcare decision making may have one (1) additional assistance person.

Dayton Children’s Hospital has been identified as a facility that could care for young adults without chronic health problems if adult hospitals reach capacity during the anticipated surge of coronavirus patients, said Sarah Hackenbracht, CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association.
Gov. Mike DeWine said K-12 will continue remote learning until at least May 1.
Prisoners in Ohio have been making PPE. So far, inmates have made, 500 hospital gowns and are awaiting fabric to make cough masks. They also are receiving the ingredients to make 1,460 gallons of hand sanitizer.
The state has created a Homelessness Team, which will focus on the homeless population. DeWine is asking all local communities to include homeless shelters in planning so the state can more quickly help support these Ohioans to meet the social distancing guidelines.
Gen. Harris with the Ohio National Guard says citizens will likely start seeing more members in uniform in their cities as they plan for humanitarian efforts.
At least 27,275 people have been tested in the state.
25 percent of the positive cases in Ohio have resulted in hospitalizations.
7 percent of the people tested in the state have had a positive result, state data shows.
A projection from Ohio State University shows the state potentially peaking in cases on April 25 with the strict social distancing policies in place.