COVID-19 Alert - September 24
By the Numbers:
Individuals Tested: 2,947,603
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 40
NEW Demographic dashboard (provides data by race and ethnicity)
Total Cases: 147,744 (15,660 of which are health care workers)
Case Increase in Last 24-Hour Period: 991
21 Day Reported Case Average: 982
Total Deaths: 4,715
Deaths Reported in Last 24-Hour Period: 28
21 Day Reported Death Average: 23
Total Hospitalizations: 15,051 (3,228 of which are in the intensive care unit)
Hospitalization Increase in last 24-Hour Period: 74
21 Day Reported Hospitalizations Average: 66
County by County Update:
New data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) found that nine counties currently have a very high risk of exposure and spread: Ashland, Butler, Delaware, Mercer, Montgomery, Pike, Putnam, Scioto, and Stark.
The distribution of cases has shifted from large urban areas to medium/small counties. In addition, Ohio counties that border IN, KY and WV are almost exclusively red and orange.
Antibody Positivity Levels Increase:
Since June, the American Red Cross has been testing all blood, plasma, and platelet donors for COVID-19 antibodies.
The antibody positivity for Ohio blood donors has increased from 1.2% in June, to 3.3% on September 14th. This is consistent with national trends where the US rate is currently at 3.5%.
Indoor Visitation at Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities & Intermediate Care Facilities:
Governor DeWine announced two new health orders that will allow for indoor visitation at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and intermediate care facilities in Ohio.
Intermediate Care Facilities:
ODH issued the Director's Order to Limit Access to Ohio's Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and to Permit Visitation, which will allow Intermediate care facilities for Ohioans with developmental disabilities to resume indoor visitation beginning on Monday, September 28, if safety standards outlined in the order are met.
Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities:
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can begin allowing indoor visitation on Monday, October 12. This date was selected to allow adequate time for the facilities to prepare their physical plants, adjust staffing levels, update visitation policies, and communicate expectations with residents and families.
Indoor visitation at nursing homes and assisted living facilities should only resume if certain safety standards are met. These standards will be outlined in a forthcoming public health order.
When visitation resumes, a Long-Term Care Facility Dashboard will be added to the COVID-19 data dashboard at coronavirus.ohio.gov where users can access facility-specific visitation information.
Multiple Sports Games Per Day Now Permitted:
Lt. Governor Husted announced that the one-game-per-calendar-day limit on sports competitions has been removed from the current sports order, which will be available soon on coronavirus.ohio.gov.
This change comes over a month after the most recent guidelines were published with evidence showing that events have gone on without any noticeable increase in spread.
Higher Education Screening Recommendations:
Ohio's ResponsibleRestart guidelines for higher education will now include a recommendation that all residential colleges and universities regularly test a sample population of asymptomatic students.
Although some schools are already doing this, the Governor believes that screening asymptomatic students really gives school leaders a good idea about virus spread on their campuses. Governor DeWine’s expectation is that colleges and universities will screen at least 3% of their at-risk population on a regular basis.
Choose Ohio First Scholarship:
Lt. Gov. Husted announced a new Request for Proposal from the Ohio Department of Higher Education for the Choose Ohio First Program. Choose Ohio First provides scholarships to students in innovative academic programs developed by Ohio’s two-year and four-year, public and private colleges and universities, along with their business partners.
The funding will boost Ohio’s efforts to strengthen the state’s workforce in the STEMM fields while supporting an estimated 1,400 Ohio students.
More than $20 million will be awarded over the next five years.
More information can be found at: https://www.ohiohighered.org/grants-rfps.
National Guard Members to Deploy for Presidential Debate:
Following a request from authorities in Cleveland, Governor DeWine issued a proclamation to activate approximately 300 members of the Ohio National Guard to assist the Cleveland Police Department during the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday.
The deployed National Guard Soldiers and Airmen will be activated as part of the National Guard Response Force and will assist police in areas such as traffic control, site security, and critical infrastructure protection.