Virus cases, hospitalizations in Ohio begin to rise again

DeWine remains optimistic of goal to remove orders by July 4

COLUMBUS (AP) — While virus cases and hospitalizations in Ohio begin to rise again, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday he remains optimistic of the state goal to remove health orders by July 4.

“We’re going in the wrong direction and we're going away from our goal," DeWine said. ”But we’re not seeing the runaway case growth that we saw during the fall. So we can still turn this around if more people continue to get vaccinated."

He added, “This is a race. We are in a life and death race.”

Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by more than 20%, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

As of Thursday, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows the state is averaging 1,483 current COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Health experts like Ohio chief medical officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff blame this spike on the number of emerging variants in the U.S.

These variants are not only proving to be more contagious but are also more deadly, Vanderhoff said during the virus briefing Thursday.

“But we can win the race as long as we don’t falter,” Vanderhoff said." As long as we continue to press on with consistent masking and getting the vaccine."

The vaccine distribution is where DeWine and Vanderhoff find the most hope and optimism for the state's fight against the virus. As of Thursday, 1 in 3 Ohioans has received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with nearly 20% of the population fully vaccinated, state data shows.

Other virus developments:

UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS

DeWine recommended to the General Assembly on Thursday that Ohio use a portion of the federal stimulus money to pay off the state’s unemployment compensation loan.

The debt from the unemployment payments the state has been making since the pandemic began currently stands at $1.46 billion.

The Republican governor said House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President Matt Huffman agreed with him that this use for some of the federal money flowing into the state is the “fiscally responsible thing to do.”

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce applauded the governor's recommendation, saying it could help prevent employers from a more than $100 million tax increase in 2022.

A group representing small businesses in Ohio also welcomed the decision.

“By doing this it shows Ohio cares about the small business community by preventing them from paying an unfair penalty on their unemployment insurance premiums that they had no control over,” Roger Geiger, executive director for National Federation of Independent Businesses, said in a statement.