COVID-19 Alert: April 22, 2020
By the Numbers:
97,998 individuals tested
14,117 total cases, 2,279 of which are health care workers
610 deaths
2,882 hospitalizations, 880 of which are in the intensive care unit
87 counties with at least one case, 54 counties with at least 1 death
Ages range from less than one year old to 106 years of age, with a median age of 51
State of Ohio COVID-19 dashboard: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/dashboard
First COVID-19 Case at Ohio Juvenile Correction Facility:
Governor Mike DeWine announced that the first positive case of COVID-19 was detected at an Ohio juvenile correction facility. The infected juvenile is in isolation, and the state is monitoring the other residents and contact tracing.
Access to all juvenile detention facilities has been limited for some time and youth and staff are required to wear masks.
Some Elective Surgeries to Commence:
Governor DeWine and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director, Dr. Amy Acton, announced a modification to a previous order issued on March 17th halting elective surgeries in an effort to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), make space available in the hospitals and slow the spread of the virus. The modification will ease restrictions on elective surgeries and diagnostic procedures.
Governor DeWine asked hospitals and surgical center providers to reach out to patients and determine if the delayed surgery or procedure should be performed. Providers should take into account the patient’s current health and quality of life if the surgery or procedure is further delayed. Health care providers must also inform the patient of the risk of contracting COVID-19 and any non-surgery options.
Doctor and dentist offices will likely be next to open.
COVID CareLine - 1-800-720-9616:
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Lori Criss joined the Governor’s daily press conference via video to announce a new effort to help Ohioans – the COVID CareLine.
COVID CareLine will be staffed with trained counselors, social workers and others from 8AM to 8PM, 7 days a week. Calls outside of that timeframe will be rolled over to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Staff answering the CareLine calls will listen to the caller’s concerns, preform screenings, give strategies for support, and connect them to resources in their community. All calls are confidential.
Ohio’s Economy:
Lt. Governor Jon Husted explained that the Ohio economy before March 15 enjoyed 5.6 million people working, a record low unemployment rate, and a shortage of workers to fill all of the available jobs. Since March 15, 1 million people are out of work in Ohio, 25 million nationally, and this number will likely continue to grow.
Experts project that the national unemployment rate will be between 15% and 25% as a result of the pandemic. Lt. Governor Husted attempted to put that projection into context by comparing it to the Great Recession in 2009 when the highest unemployment rate was 10.9%.
He also explained that as unemployment goes up, so does suicide, depression, domestic violence, diabetes, homelessness, and other negative health conditions.
State and local governments rely on income and sales taxes and will experience a dramatic loss in revenues. Some mayors are expecting budget cuts of 15%-25% and those cuts will inevitably impact police and fire and other vital services.
State Budget Shortfall:
Lt. Governor Husted said that the $2.7 billion in the state’s rainy-day fund would be sufficient for the state during a normal recession. However, we may need more than twice that amount to balance the budget over the next 15 months.
The re-opening strategy is not only about business but also the services that people rely upon, including healthcare, public safety and education.
Lt. Governor Husted reminded us that “the road to recovery will certainly be long and gradual.” More details on the re-opening strategy will be released later this week, including detailed protocols such as continued social distancing at 6 feet, masks, hand washing and sanitizer, to name a few.
Unemployment Claims:
Lt. Governor Husted and Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services Director Kim Hall provided an update on Ohio’s unemployment claims citing that as of yesterday, $858M in claims paid to 349,176 Ohioans.
COVID-19 Testing Strategy:
Dr. Acton explained that she, along with the Governor and Lt. Governor, continue to take aggressive actions to deal with this global pandemic. In order to maximum who is tested and make the most of the limited tests available, Dr. Acton developed a priority system for testing. At the same time, the Governor, through the newly formed Testing Strike Team lead by Governors Taft and Celeste, is looking for ways to identify more tests and scale up testing.
