Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for Thursday December 3
Below are the updates from Governor DeWine’s press conference. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Friday, December 4th at 2:00 PM.
Here’s the news from today:
- Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
- 422,848 confirmed cases
- 24,001 probable cases
- 446,849 total cases
- 28,281 hospitalizations
- 6,304 confirmed deaths
- 449 probable deaths
- 6,753 total deaths
- 4,814 ICU admissions
- More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.
- Level 4 (Purple): Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, and Summit
- Level 3 (Red): Franklin and Morgan
- Watchlist Counties: Cuyahoga, Fairfield, and Madison
- Dropped off the Watchlist (now Red): Adams, Clermont, Hamilton, Trumbull, Warren, and Wood
- In the past 24 hours, Ohio reported 8,921 new coronavirus cases, the fifth-highest case count reported in one day since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 400 more hospitalizations were reported, and an additional 82 people have died from COVID-19 in Ohio. COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions also remain high.
- Dr. Andy Thomas, chief clinical officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, warned that Ohio is not yet seeing the impact of gatherings that took place over Thanksgiving because hospitalizations are a lagging indicator. Symptoms generally develop within 10 days of transmission, and hospitalizations typically occur a week after diagnosis.
- According to this week's ODH travel advisory, this is the first week since April where Ohio’s positivity for COVID-19 has increased above 15 percent. The travel advisory encourages all Ohioans to help limit the spread and impact of this virus by staying home except for necessary trips for supplies. The advisory also urges Ohioans to consistently wear masks when around others and frequently wash their hands.
- Citing objections from health care professionals and business leaders as being detrimental to pandemic response and public health, Governor DeWine today vetoed Substitute Senate Bill 311, stating in his veto message that "it is not in the best interest of protecting the health and safety of all Ohioans." The veto message included several comments from health experts opposing the measure. Those are included in the attached press release.
- As part of the Administration’s efforts to continue sharing information about COVID-19, our team has created several “Coalition Communication Fact Sheets” for industries, including: agriculture, healthcare, philanthropy, higher-ed, k-12 education, faith based, business, tourism and arts, law enforcement, and local government. These documents will be updated each week and include helpful talking points, sample social media posts, resources, updated COVID data, etc. Attached is one example. If you would like to regularly receive any of these documents, please reach out to the Governor's Office.
- Governor DeWine announced that Ohio's Retail Compliance Unit Dashboard is now available online at coronavirus.ohio.gov. The dashboard includes information on the number of retailers visited by agents, how many customers and employees were properly wearing masks, how many establishments had proper signage, and the number of warnings issued. The dashboard will be updated each Thursday.
- Attached are the slides that Governor DeWine used during the press conference today.
- Ohioans filed 27,750 initial jobless claims and 256,776 continued jobless claims last week, according to statistics the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported to the U.S. Dept. of Labor today. In addition, 232,259 Ohioans received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) last week.
- Over the last 37 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $7.4 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 855,000 Ohioans. Of the more than 1 million applications the agency has received, about 95% have been processed, with about 5% pending. In addition, ODJFS has issued more than $7.2 billion in PUA payments to more than 710,000 Ohioans.
- Ohioans can apply for unemployment benefits online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at unemployment.ohio.gov. It is also possible to file by phone at 877-644-6562 or TTY at 888- 642-8203, Monday through Friday 7AM to 7PM, Saturday 9AM to 5PM, and Sunday 9AM to 1PM. Employers with questions should email UCTech@jfs.ohio.gov.
As always, Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov and the Department of Health hotline, 1-833-4-ASK-ODH are great resources for those who have questions.