TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine updated the state's coronavirus advisory map a day early Wednesday, moving three more counties to purple and 11 others, including Wood County, to the watch list.
Montgomery, Lake and Lorain counties have moved to the highest risk level Level 4 (Purple), joining Franklin County, which remains at the highest risk level for the second week.
The 11 counties moving to the watch list are:
- Adams
- Clermont
- Hamilton
- Medina
- Portage
- Richland
- Stark
- Summit
- Trumbull
- Warren
- Wood
Being on the watch list means these counties have met enough health department indicators to be considered Level 4 (Purple). However, the system requires them to meet these criteria for two weeks in a row to ensure a consistent trend in the data before they are officially elevated on the map.
“The ongoing high prevalence of the virus throughout Ohio, as reflected in today’s alert system update, is very dangerous as we move into the holidays,” DeWine said in a release. “We have heard again this week from hospital administrators and front-line staff about how they are overwhelmed. It is imperative that Ohioans take the virus and this current situation seriously.”
More information on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System can be found on the coronavirus.ohio.gov website.
Ohio also reported a record-setting 156 new deaths and 417 new hospitalizations on Wednesday.
There have now been 254 new deaths in the past two days and 781 new hospitalizations.
The previous high for deaths was 138 on April 29.
The timeline from infection to death is typically a month or longer, and the state is now seeing deaths jump following a surge in cases late last month. Ohio surpassed 3,000 new cases for the first time on Oct. 29 and more than 200 new hospitalizations on Oct. 20.
There are now 4,541 COVID patients in Ohio hospitals and 615 on ventilators, both pandemic highs. The 1,077 patients in ICUs are just short of the 1,079 high set on Monday.
On Wednesday, Ohio also announced 10,835 new infections, the second time it has surpassed the 10,000 mark. On Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine said that there were still 15,000 positive tests that needed to be confirmed. At least 75 percent of those antigen tests are expected to be added to the overall case total over the next couple of weeks.
On Tuesday, ODH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff warned that the worst could be yet to come for state hospitals should guidelines not be followed.
He called the current picture in the state's medical centers "incredible," with some seeing 20-30% of their total volume taken up by COVID-19 patients. Vanderhoff believes that what we are seeing now is the result of people gathering during the time period surrounding Halloween, adding that Thanksgiving gatherings could push hospitals to their limits.
"The big fear is, if we don't take the message of masking, distancing, avoiding coming together in groups seriously, Thanksgiving could have a much more profound impact and could actually result in our hospitals being overwhelmed," Vanderhoff said.
