COVID-19 Alert - October 22

By the Numbers:

• Individuals Tested:  4,044,119

• 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 41

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

• Total Cases: 190,430 (19,420 of which are health care workers)

• Case Increase in Last 24-Hour Period: 2,425

• 21 Day Reported Case Average: 1,672

• Total Deaths:  5.161

• Deaths Reported in Last 24-Hour Period: 12

• 21 Day Reported Death Average: 16

• Total Hospitalizations: 17,682 (3,657 of which are in the intensive care unit)

• Hospitalization Increase in last 24-Hour Period: 159

• 21 Day Reported Hospitalizations Average: 99

Coronavirus Pandemic Worsening in Ohio:

• The primary focus of today’s press conference was around the worsening COVID-19 numbers facing Ohio.

• Governor DeWine announced that today the state is reporting 2,425 new cases since yesterday, which is the highest number Ohio has ever reported in a single day. Of the 10 highest days of new cases reported, eight have occurred in just the past nine days. Nine have occurred in the month of October alone.

• In addition, there are now 38 counties designated red, which is close to half the state. This is an increase from 29 red counties last week.

• Ohio also has three counties that are now on the watch list: Clark, Cuyahoga and Hamilton.

• Finally, we now only have four counties that are yellow. This is the highest number of red counties and the lowest number of yellow counties to date. That means that 74% of Ohioans are living in a red county. Only 1% are living in a yellow county.

• Governor DeWine implored Ohioans that it is time to pay attention and get serious. Stating that the spread of COVID-19 is getting worse by the minute, and while the government is not going to come knocking on your door to make sure you aren't having a party, we all have a personal responsibility to take precautions and stay safe.

Updated Travel Advisory:

• Positivity rate is an indicator of how much COVID-19 there is in a community, and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is recommending against travel to those states with high positivity. If someone must travel, ODH recommends 14 days of self-quarantine after leaving those locations. The advisory is for both leisure and business travel, and should be heeded by Ohioans and out-of-state travelers. However, it is intended as guidance and is not a mandate.

• Based on a 7-day rolling average of positivity rates of October 21, the affected states are:

Ohio Earns Apprenticeship Rankings:

• Lt. Governor Husted also provided a brief update to announce that Ohio recently received two RAPIDS apprenticeship rankings - #4 in the U.S. for number of apprentices and #1 among the 28 states with state apprenticeship systems. 

• Apprentice Ohio programs provide full-time work and decent wages, so Ohioans can earn while they learn. On average, apprentices in Ohio earn $70,000 dollars a year with no student debt in fields like construction, IT, manufacturing and healthcare.