COVID-19 Alert - September 1

By the Numbers:

• Individuals Tested:  2,263,107

• 88 counties with at least one case

• Ages range from less than one year old to 109 years of age, with a median age of 42

• State of Ohio COVID-19 dashboard: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/dashboard

• Total Cases: 124,610 (13,755 of which are health care workers)

• Case Increase in Last 24-Hour Period: 1,453

• 21 Day Reported Case Average: 1,037

• Total Deaths:  4,165

• Deaths Reported in Last 24-Hour Period: 27

• 21 Day Reported Death Average: 22

• Total Hospitalizations: 13,479 (2,975 of which are in the intensive care unit)

• Hospitalization Increase in last 24-Hour Period: 103

• 21 Day Reported Hospitalizations Average: 82

Warning Against Holiday Gatherings:

• Governor DeWine warned Ohioans to remain responsible during the upcoming Labor Day weekend, noting that in the weeks after July 4th, the state averaged close to 1,500 cases per day in large part because of Independence Day gatherings. 

• One example of COVID-19 community spread as a result of Impendence Day events:

BroadbandOhio Awardees Announced:

• Lt. Governor Husted announced that over 900 grant requests have been approved for the K-12 Broadband Connectivity Grant to go towards hotspots and internet-enabled devices. This enables 121,000 students to gain high-speed internet in their homes, thanks to the devices provided by this grant based on information provided by the schools. In areas where there are barriers to take-home devices, the grant will also support the creation of new public wi-fi and mobile wi-fi spaces to help students connect to the internet. There are over 645,000 students in schools that are increasing their public wi-fi or using mobile wi-fi.  Those students will have a place to go to access the internet if they do not have access in their homes.

• By the end of this week, schools will receive notifications of their final award and can begin the process of purchasing these items through the Ohio Department of Education and BroadbandOhio.

• The Lt. Governor also provided an update on Ohio’s telehealth pilot project at Switzerland of Ohio School District in Monroe County. The objective is to connect the school district with behavioral health services. Districts interested in developing telehealth services can now review the Telehealth in Schools Blueprint, which provides a better understanding of lessons learned through the pilot project.

• Moreover, progress has been made through Ohio’s Common Sense Initiative (CSI) to streamline broadband regulations through their new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool. The tool found:

  • 303 definitions related to the regulation of broadband, found in Ohio’s rules or statutes across 25 different state agencies

  • 16 different definitions of public utility in Ohio law across 5 different agencies

• In an effort to develop a strategy that will create a clear and concise set of terminology for broadband providers to follow, the Lt. Governor and CSI will work with agencies to streamline these definitions.

Traffic Safety:

• Governor DeWine announced three new traffic-safety efforts aimed at reducing the number of fatalities on Ohio's roads, including:

  • Ohio Traffic Safety Council: The new council, led by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, will be composed of representatives of several state agencies and outside groups. The role of the council will be to coordinate and monitor all statewide traffic safety initiatives, analyze trends, and advise the Governor on creating safer roads through education, enforcement, engineering, and emergency response.

  • Work Zone Enforcement: Because enforcing traffic laws can be a challenge in work zones, the Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation Unit, which already conducts speed checks from the air, will conduct targeted enforcement on crash-causing violations in Ohio Department of Transportation construction zones. The increased enforcement is in response to the nearly 9,000 work-zone crashes in Ohio between 2019 and 2020. 

  • Juvenile Court Grants: Eight juvenile courts in Ohio have been awarded grant funding through the Ohio Department of Public Safety to help them provide young drivers more access to advanced driver training. Courts in Adams, Athens, Medina, Knox, Delaware, Miami, Fairfield, and Delaware counties will each receive $20,000 through Ohio's new Youthful Driver Safety Fund which was developed as part of Ohio's biennium budget.

Wear a Mask PSA:

• A new public service announcement to encourage Ohioans to wear masks, found can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOEniEBl8Ik&feature=youtu.be.

• The PSA features 99-year-old Jim “Pee Wee” Martin who lives in Sugarcreek Township in Greene County. Jim volunteered to be a WWII Paratrooper, an original member of Company “G”, 3rdBattalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. His nickname “Pee Wee” was earned because he was 106 pounds, the smallest and lightest guy in the company. In 1944, Jim jumped into France over Utah Beach the night prior to D-Day and fought for 33 days in the Normandy campaign. He also fought in Holland, Belgium, and Germany.