COVID-19 Alert - July 15, 2020
By the Numbers:
Individuals Tested: 1,058,599
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 43
State of Ohio COVID-19 dashboard: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/dashboard
Total Cases: 69,311 (8,472 of which are health care workers)
Case Increase in Last 24-Hour Period: 1,316
21 Day Reported Case Average: 1,074
Total Deaths: 3,075
Deaths Reported in Last 24-Hour Period: 6
21 Day Reported Death Average: 15
Total Hospitalizations: 8,383 (2,259 of which are in the intensive care unit)
Hospitalization Increase in last 24-Hour Period: 160
21 Day Reported Hospitalizations Average: 84
Governor DeWine Provides a State-of-the-Virus Address and Makes a Plea to Ohioans to Continue the Fight Against the Virus:
Governor DeWine started his remarks by stating that no new health orders or mandates will be announced today, and that is a discussion for another time. He also said that he will take whatever action necessary to protect Ohioans, but his orders are not as important as what all Ohioans will do in the days ahead, warning that if immediate action is not taken, Ohio will experience the same rapid spike in cases as Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Ohioans worked hard to fight the virus and those efforts bought time for Ohio to procure medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE), and a development a regional hospital system. He urged Ohioans to continue efforts to keep the virus in check in order for Ohio businesses to remain open and keep the economic momentum going. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 17.6% in April and dropped to 13.7% in May, and for 10 straight weeks applications for unemployment benefits have declined.
Governor DeWine announced that Ohio is nearing the April and May peak hospitalizations of 1,100 patients. Cincinnati and Dayton regions are experiencing more COVID-19 patients in the hospital than at any other time during the pandemic, and the Cleveland region is seeing a similar rise in hospitalizations.
Describing this as the most critical point in our battle against the coronavirus, Governor DeWine made a plea to each Ohioan to wear a mask regardless of where they live or the public health advisory alert level in their county.