Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for Tuesday, December 15

Below are the updates from Governor DeWine’s press conference. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Thursday, December 17^th at 2:00 PM.  

Here’s the news from Tuesday: 

• Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
• 529,508 confirmed cases
• 49,849 probable cases  
• 579,357 total cases
• 32,878 hospitalizations
• 7,054 confirmed deaths
• 600 probable deaths
• 7,654 total deaths
• 5,283 ICU admissions
• More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE. 

• As of today, 5,296 patients are hospitalized throughout the state and 1,311 of those patients are in intensive care units. Ohio currently has more patients in the ICU than it had total for all COVID-19 hospitalized patients during the previous peak last summer. There are currently 863 patients who need a ventilator, as compared to 360 patients on ventilators a month ago. 

• Seven hospitals in Ohio received their first vaccine shipments today, bringing the total number of vaccine doses delivered to Ohio over the past two days to 98,475. COVID-19 vaccine shipments of 975 doses apiece were delivered to:

• Mercy Health St. Vincent Hospital, Lucas County
• Mercy Health Springfield Regional Medical Center, Clark County
• Cleveland Clinic, Cuyahoga County
• Metro Health Medical Center, Cuyahoga County
• Aultman Hospital, Stark County
• Genesis Hospital, Muskingum County
• Ohio Health Riverside Methodist Hospital, Franklin County
• An additional 975-dose shipment was delivered to OhioHealth Riverside Hospital for use at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens.  

• Although vaccine supplies are currently limited, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has advised that Ohio will continue to receive vaccinations throughout the month of December. Next week, Ohio is expected to receive 123,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as 201,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine. During the week of New Year’s, Ohio is expected to receive an additional 148,000 Pfizer vaccines and an additional 89,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. 

• Next week, local health departments in Ohio that registered as providers are expected to begin receiving vaccines. Local health departments should coordinate the vaccinations of congregate care residents and staff, such as those at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, who are not enrolled in the federal long-term care pharmacy programs or are not registered as providers themselves. 

• In addition, local health departments should prioritize vaccinating other healthcare providers who are not being vaccinated by hospitals and health systems and are not enrolled as providers themselves.  These providers could include:

• Home health workers
• Hospice workers
• Emergency medical services responders
• Primary care practitioners
• Free-standing emergency department, urgent care, pharmacy, and dialysis center providers not vaccinated by hospitals or healthcare systems
• Dental providers
• Public health employees who are at risk of exposure or transmission, such as vaccinators
• Mobile unit practitioners
• Federally-qualified health center providers
• High-risk ancillary health care staff members 

• Attached are the slides that Governor DeWine used during today’s press conference. 

• 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.