Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for Thursday, April 15, 2021
Below are the updates from Governor DeWine’s press conference. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Thursday April 22nd at 2:00pm.
Here’s the news from Thursday:
- Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
- 883,946 confirmed cases
- 164,163 probable cases
- 1,048,109 total cases
- 54,636 hospitalizations
- 18,917 Ohio resident deaths
- 18,910 deaths in State of Ohio
- 7,604 ICU admissions
- 200 cases per 100,000 Ohioans (updated weekly on Thursdays and can be found HERE)
- More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.
VARIANT SPREAD
- Governor DeWine announced today that more than 36 percent of Ohioans have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, however, Ohio's statewide case incidence number has reached 200 cases per 100,000 people as compared to 144 cases per 100,000 people four weeks ago.
- There are currently more than 1,300 COVID-positive patients in Ohio's hospitals.
- The majority of the counties with the highest incidence of cases in Ohio are in the northern region of the state which is seeing a high level of variant cases.
- Lucas County is currently seeing the highest occurrence of cases with 341.1 cases per 100,000 county residents.
- Franklin County increased to Alert Level 4 (purple) on Ohio Public Health Advisory System due to a sustained increase in COVID-related emergency room visits, outpatient visits, and hospital admissions.
VACCINATION OPPORTUNITIES
- There are a significant number of vaccine providers across the state with open vaccination appointments for this week and next week.
- Several sites are also accepting walk-up appointments including the mass vaccination clinic at Summit County's fairgrounds, Franklin County's regional mass vaccination clinic, and the Youngstown clinics at the Covelli Centre and Congregation Rodef Sholom Temple.
- Ohio's mass vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland is also opening a satellite vaccination clinic on Friday and Saturday in Maple Heights which has many open appointments for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER TOOLKIT
- Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) today announced the launch of the Inclusive Employer Toolkit designed to help employers recruit, hire, and retain employees with disabilities and foster an inclusive workplace.
- Recruitment and retention are challenges for many businesses. Individuals with disabilities represent a talent pool that is often hidden and underutilized. The Inclusive Employer Toolkit, which can be used in its entirety or by section, is a guide to creating an inclusive workplace and accessing this hidden pool of talent.
- The Toolkit includes four main topics:
- Building the Business Case – benefitting from hiring people with disabilities
- Inclusive Workplace – making the workplace inclusive of everyone
- Recruiting, Hiring, and Supporting Employees – getting access to a greater pool of talent
- Workplace Accommodations – making small changes can make a big difference
CASE DATA & VACCINE INFORMATION
Attached are the slides that were used in 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.