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Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for September 3

Below are the updates from yesterday’s press conference with Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th at 2:00 PM.   

Here’s the news from Thursday: 

  • Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
    • 120,471 confirmed cases
    • 6,641 probable cases  
    • 127,112 total cases
    • 13,663 hospitalizations
    • 3,939 confirmed deaths
    • 287 probable deaths
    • 4,226 total deaths
    • 3,003 ICU admissions
    • More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.
  • Governor DeWine today released this week's Ohio Public Health Advisory System map. New health data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health indicates that seven counties currently have a very high risk of exposure and spread. A total of 67 counties stayed at the same level as last week, and 12 counties moved from orange to yellow. There are now a total of 39 counties in the yellow level, the highest number since July 2. 
  • Attached are the slides from today’s press conference which include: holiday weekend travel volume map, 2020 Independence Day highest-traffic destinations map, Age 0-29 case percentage graph, key indicator numbers from today, Ohio counties ranked by highest case occurrences, and the updated Public Health Advisory Alert System map. 
  • Governor DeWine announced details for Ohio's forthcoming case reporting order for K-12 schools. Beginning Tuesday, September 8, parents or guardians and school staff should notify their school within 24 hours of receiving a positive test or a clinical diagnosis. Within 24 hours after receiving that notification, the school should notify other parents and guardians about that case in writing, providing as much information as possible without releasing protected health information. The school must also notify their local health department within 24 hours. 
  • Beginning Tuesday, September 15, and each Tuesday thereafter, local health departments will report the number of newly reported and cumulative cases to the Ohio Department of Health. The Ohio Department of Health will publish this data by school or school district, including a breakdown by students and staff, each Thursday. The order will also require each school district or school to identify a COVID-19 coordinator to facilitate the reporting of case information, and upon request, schools or buildings are required to provide the local health department a copy of their pandemic plan. 
  • Governor DeWine once again encouraged Ohioans to take proper safety precautions over the upcoming Labor Day weekend. He stressed that citizens can still have fun, visit family, and travel, but face coverings, social distancing, and hand washing should also be part of your plans. The Governor also reminded young Ohioans of their responsibility to follow safety precautions, especially students attending a college or university. 
  • Governor DeWine announced that information from Ohio's new Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network is now available at coronavirus.ohio.gov. The network was developed to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through the study of wastewater samples.  
  • Lt. Governor Husted announced that, in an effort led by the Development Services Agency, the U.S. Department of Defense has made a commitment to Ohio’s defense manufacturers and put the state in a position to receive a $5 million grant to improve manufacturing processes and train workers for next-generation jobs. 
  • As of last Tuesday, all child care providers in Ohio that serve publicly funded children were required to be rated on Ohio’s child care quality rating system, called Step Up To Quality. Today, over 4,400 providers are now rated through the system. This is more than double the number of rated quality child care providers when Governor DeWine took office in 2019. 
  • Governor DeWine announced that Greater Cincinnati Water Works will receive $725,000 in H2Ohio funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to remove and replace lead service lines and fixtures at nearly 200 child care facilities in Cincinnati. The H2Ohio initiative launched last year to address a number of water quality issues in Ohio including lead pipes feeding into childcare centers. 
  • Ohioans filed 18,719 initial jobless claims last week, according to statistics the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported to the U.S. Department of Labor today. 
  • Over the last 24 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $6.2 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 795,000 Ohioans. Of the more than 1.3 million applications the agency has received, about 94% have been processed, with about 6% pending. In addition, ODJFS has issued more than $5.4 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments to more than 550,000 PUA claimants. 
  • 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.

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