COLUMBUS, Ohio — One day after pleading with state residents to be vigilant and wear masks no matter where they reside in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine updated the state on COVID-19 developments, placing 19 counties under a Red Level 3 public health advisory.
On Thursdays, the governor goes over what counties fall into which levels of the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, which indicates areas with greatest level of risk of people contracting the coronavirus.
Locally, the following counties are:
RED ALERT LEVEL 3
- Lucas County
- Wood County
ORANGE ALERT LEVEL 2
- Ottawa County
- Sandusky County
- Huron County
- Erie County
- Putnam County
YELLOW ALERT LEVEL 1
- Hancock County
- Fulton County
- Seneca County
- Henry County
- Williams County
On July 9, Wood County was elevated to the Red Level 3 of the system, triggering, among other orders, the requirement that people in the county wear face coverings in public especially when social distancing cannot be maintained.
Lucas County's Health Commissioner, Eric Zgodzinski, had said earlier Thursday that Lucas County was not far away from approaching a “Red Level 3” status -which would require masks in public places.
Addressing Lucas County, DeWine said the numbers have surged, with 393 cases over the last two weeks. The average number of cases has more than quadrupled over the last three weeks. DeWine cited outbreaks in a long-term care facility and at a funeral in Lucas County.
Also on Thursday, Dr. Andy Thomas joined the conference via Skype. He is the chief clinical officer at the OSU Wexner Center. He helped to develop the color-coded advisory system.
The system is based on a group of metrics that when taken together provide an early warning that a county is in impending danger.
"It's not meant to be a grade. It's like a weather forecast of a storm coming in the future. It doesn't to any good to get a forecast of a storm coming when you already see it raining outside," Thomas said.
None of the counties are green, he said, because no matter what county in which you live, you run the risk of contracting COVID-19 since there is no vaccine.
No matter where you live, Thomas said, he said people should be wearing masks, practice good handwashing and keeping surfaces clean.
PPE SUPPLY
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted discussed health interventions and the Ohio economy, noting that early on there was not an adequate supply of PPE and testing. A $20 million grant is now available to help producers make more personal protective equipment, he said. There are 68 Ohio manufacturers who will receive the grants of up to $500,000 to retool or expand to produce PPE. Husted said 829 new jobs will be created and 1,133 jobs will be retained due to the grants.
JobsOhio has procured 65 millions pieces of PPE, Husted said, and more than 50 million pieces have been distributed across the state.
"We worked to fulfill the most urgent requests with that PPE," he said.
JobsOhio next week will put together kits with other partners to distribute PPE tool kits, especially to hotspots.
PLEADING TO WEAR MASKS
On Wednesday, DeWine talked to Ohioans for about 20 minutes, urging all residents to wear masks to help fight off the pandemic.
"I'm asking you, wherever you live, to wear masks when in public. Some may question the wisdom of masks, but as we said when I was a prosecutor: 'The jury is back, The verdict is in.' There is broad consensus in medical, health and business communities that masks are critical," he said.
The governor said Wednesday that this is a critical time to act so the state does not find itself in a similar situation as Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.
DeWine said the virus is spreading with vengeance across parts of Ohio.
"It lurks, waiting to attack victims in all 88 counties. Tragically, in four months, we've already lost 3,075 Ohioans to this dreaded disease - nearly the same number of Ohioans who died in the Vietnam War," DeWine said.