Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for Monday March 8

Below are the updates from Governor DeWine’s press conferences. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Thursday, March 11^th at 2:00 PM. 

Here’s the news from Monday: 

• Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
• 837,216 confirmed cases
• 142,509 probable cases  
• 979,725 total cases
• 50,965 hospitalizations
• 17,502 Ohio resident deaths
• 17,656 deaths in State of Ohio
• 7,223 ICU admissions  
• 179.6 cases per 100,000 Ohioans (updated weekly on Thursdays and can be found HERE)
• More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE. 

PHASE 1D AND PHASE 2B VACCINATION ELIGIBILITY

• In response to significant increase in the amount of vaccine coming into Ohio, Governor DeWine today outlined the individuals who are included in Phase 1D and Phase 2B of Ohio's vaccination plan, which will go into effect on Thursday, March 11. 

• Phase 1D includes approximately 197,000 eligible Ohioans with certain medical conditions not addressed in previous phases, including type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease. 

• Phase 2B will open vaccinations based on age for Ohioans ages 50 and older.
• This group includes approximately 1.2 million eligible Ohioans. 

VACCINATION SCHEDULING TOOL

• Governor DeWine announced today that Ohio's centralized scheduling website is now available at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.
• The website will serve as a singular location for Ohioans to confirm that they are eligible to be vaccinated, identify nearby providers, and schedule their vaccine appointments. 

• The Ohio Department of Health will continue to work directly with vaccine providers to integrate their current systems into the statewide system.
• Providers will be expected to use this system or another electronic scheduling system that interfaces with this portal. 

• The centralized scheduling website will also be used for scheduling appointments at the mass vaccination clinics, including the FEMA site in Cleveland, that were announced last week. 

• Outside partners, including the Area Agencies on Aging, will be available to help Ohioans who do not have access to the internet with appointment scheduling.  

UMEPLOYMENT UPDATE

• Governor DeWine announced the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has signed a contract with IBM to improve the unemployment call center.
• ODJFS has additionally signed a contract with LexisNexis to assist the department with on-going efforts to keep fraud out of the system. 

• Jeff Ficke, leader of the ODJFS Public-Private Partnership Team (P-3 Team), joined Governor DeWine to provide an update on improvements being made to Ohio's unemployment system.
• Members of the ODJFS Public-Private Partnership Team include highly-skilled experts, most of whom are on loan from some of Ohio's top banking and insurance companies. 

Attached are the slides 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.