COVID-19 Alert - July 2, 2020

By the Numbers:

• 788,403 individuals tested

• 52,865 total cases, 7,190 of which are health care workers

• 2,876 deaths

• 7,911 hospitalizations, 2,008 of which are in the intensive care unit

• 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 49

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

Creation of New Public Health Advisory Alert System:

• As the virus spreads across Ohio and the country, Governor DeWine explained that our best defense is to be on the offense, stating that the case load increased significantly over the last three weeks.

• He said that in order to continue the fight against COVID-19, moving forward he will maintain a necessary baseline order related to social distancing and mask requirements for business employees and education staff.   Additionally, he announced the implementation of a new warning system, the “Public Health Advisory Alert System”, to provide health departments and communities with the data and information needed to identify and fight spikes in the virus.

• The system has 4 alert levels determined by 7 data indicators, including:

  • New Cases Per Capita

  • Sustained Increase in New Cases

  • Proportion of Cases Not Congregate Cases

  • Sustained Increase in Emergency Room Visits

  • Sustained Increase in Outpatient Visits

  • Sustained Increase in New COVID-19 Hospital Admissions

  • Intensive Care Unity Bed Occupancy

• The risk level for each county will correspond with a color code representing that risk.  The 4 alert levels are:

Alert Level 1 (Yellow)

• 0 to 1 of the 7 indicators triggered

• 53 counties are in this category

• Guidelines:

  • Active exposure and spread

  • Follow all current health orders

Alert Level 2 (Orange)

• 2 or 3 of the 7 indicators triggered

• 28 counties are in this category

• Guidelines:

  • Increased exposure and spread

  • Exercise high degree of caution

  • Follow all current health orders

Alert Level 3 (Red)

• 4 or 5 of the 7 indicators are triggered

• 7 counties are in this category

• Guidelines:

  • Very high exposure and spread

  • Limit activities as much as possible (limit travel and gatherings)

  • Follow all current health orders

Alert Level 4 (Purple)

• 6 of the 7 indicators triggered

• 0 counties are in this category

• Guidelines:

  • Severe exposure and spread

  • Only leave home for supplies and services

  • Follow all current health orders

  • The Alert System, with an interactive county-by-county map, can be found here: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/public-health-advisory-system/

A Closer Look at the 7 Counties in Alert Level 3:

Governor DeWine took a closer look at the counties currently in Alert Level 3. 

• Trumbull County – Meets 4 of the 7 indicators and experiencing outbreaks in congregate care settings and a healthcare facility.

• Huron County – Meets 5 of the 7 indicators and experiencing outbreaks in workplace and farm operations.

• Montgomery County – Meets 5 of the 7 indicators and experiencing more than double the average daily visits to the emergency room, and quadrupled outpatient visits. 

• Butler County – Meets 4 of 7 indicators and experiencing double the number of cases per day as well as hospital and ICU beds.

• Cuyahoga County – Meets 4 of the 7 indicators and experiencing a significant increase in cases that are not in a congregate care setting, indicating high community spread.

• Hamilton County – Meets 5 of the 7 indicators and experiencing quadrupled cases of about 130 cases per day.

• Franklin County – Meets 5 of the 7 indicators and experiencing “explosive” growth in the number of cases. It is on the Governor’s “watch list” as the county is very close to Alert Level 4.

Addition of “Presumed Recovered” Data Point:

• Later today, the http://Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov data dashboard will include a new data point called “Presumed Recovered.”

• This calculation is determined by the total number of cases minus deaths minus cases with an onset date in the last 21 days.

• Today’s presumed recovered count is: 38,987 cases.

Guidance to Re-Open Schools:

• Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted talked to dozens of teachers, administrators, parents, and others involved in K-12 education to develop the guidelines for schools to follow when creating their individual re-opening plans.   

• Basic principles behind the state’s guidance:

  • The state has an obligation to educate children and keep them safe.

  • There is local control over schools.

  • It is important to get kids back into the school building.

  • The key provisions in the school re-opening guidelines include:

    • Vigilantly assess symptoms (take temperatures, assess health conditions, implement a testing strategy).

    • Wash and sanitize hands to avoid spread of the virus (wash hands throughout the day and provide hand sanitizer throughout the building).

    • Sanitize and disinfect the school building.

    • Practice social distancing (6 feet distance among students, teachers, interns and others as often as possible).

    • Face covering policy (each school must develop a face covering policy, school staff must wear masks with the exceptions that exist for other employers/employees, strong recommendation that children 3rd grade and up wear face coverings).

• Governor DeWine recognizes that there will be a cost to school districts to implement these guidelines.  The Governor is working with the legislative leaders to make federal CARES funding available to help schools pay for these additional costs.  He will announce the specific amount of money going to schools in the next week.

• The Department of Education will release a document “The Reset and Restart Education Planning Guide for Ohio Schools and Districts” to assist schools with implementing the five (5) guidelines.

Bar + Restaurant Update:

• Since May, when restaurants and bars re-opened, the Ohio Department of Commerce has been working with local jurisdictions to extend liquor permits to outside spaces next to bars (like parking lots/sidewalks) so seating capacity can expand outside to keep patrons distanced.

• Governor DeWine encouraged bar and restaurant owners to continue to work with the state and their local governments to come up with creative ways to expand their outdoor seating capacity so that everyone can stay safe and be socially distanced. So far, over 300 expansion requests have been granted.

• While the Governor is “disturbed” by some of the photos circulating of crowded bars and restaurants, he emphasized that most places are very conscientious and doing a great job of following the state guidelines. He also indicated that the state will be cracking down on establishments that are not following requirements.