COVID-19 Alert - November 17

By the Numbers:

• Individuals Tested: 5,348,464

• 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: 312,443 (25,643 of which are health care workers)

• Case Increase in Last 24-Hour Period: 7,079

• 21 Day Reported Case Average: 5,224

• Total Deaths: 5,772

• Deaths Reported in Last 24-Hour Period: 30

• 21 Day Reported Death Average: 25

• Total Hospitalizations: 22,846 (4,250 of which are in the intensive care unit)

• Hospitalization Increase in last 24-Hour Period: 368

• 21 Day Reported Hospitalizations Average: 210

Statewide Curfew:

• The Ohio Department of Health will be issuing a 10 PM to 5 AM statewide curfew beginning on Thursday, November 19. The curfew will be in effect for 21 days.

• The curfew will not apply to those going to or from work, those who have an emergency, or those who need medical care. The curfew is not intended to stop anyone from getting groceries or going to a pharmacy. Picking up carry-out or a drive-thru meal and ordering for delivery will be permitted, but serving food and drink in person must cease at 10 p.m.

• Additional details on the 21-day curfew order are forthcoming.

• The Governor indicated that the decision to impose a 21-day curfew was made with input from the medical and business communities with consideration to the economic and mental health impacts that another shutdown could cause. Further stating that it is a balanced approach that will slow down people coming together and impact the spread of the virus to the point that it can be controlled, and at the same time, not cause a catastrophic effect in the economy.

• He also encouraged Ohioans to do one thing each day that will decrease the spread of the virus through mask-wearing, social distancing, and limiting the number of daily contacts.

Ohio’s Vaccine Preparations:

• The Ohio Department of Health has identified 10 sites across the state that will receive the pre-positioned vaccine after a COVID-19 vaccine is given emergency-use authorization. Once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issues its recommendation on how to use the vaccine, the sites will begin administering the vaccine immediately to those who choose to receive it and are identified as able to receive it in the first stage.

• Ohio will first vaccinate those who are most at risk, including those who work in long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and other congregate-care facilities, high-risk health care workers, and first responders.

• The ten pre-positioned sites were selected based on geography, population, and access to ultra-cold storage capacity. Other sites will begin receiving shipments of vaccine following final approval, potentially just days after the pre-positioned sites begin administering the vaccine.

Home and Healthy for the Holidays:

• As students at Ohio’s colleges and universities are preparing to head home for the holidays, the Ohio Department of Higher Education and Ohio Hospital Association are launching a new campaign to encourage students to keep themselves and family members safe while they're at home.

• The "Home and Healthy for the Holidays" campaign will provide tips for students to follow before, during, and after holiday travel. The campaign will also share information for students on what they should do if they have no access to testing or if they receive a positive or negative test result.

• College students are encouraged to share how they plan to be safe during the holidays by posting to social media using the hashtags #HomeandHealthyfortheHolidays and #BackOnCampus21.

Ohio Department of Health Holiday Guide:

• Governor DeWine announced the release of a new holiday celebration guide from the Ohio Department of Health to help families celebrate safely during the 2020-2021 holiday season.

• The guide provides alternatives to large in-person celebrations for a variety of holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Orthodox New Year, and others.

• The holiday gathering guide is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.