DeWine: Virus fight surges Online:

Governor plots next steps in pandemic fight for the state

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Oct. 13 the state is at half-time in the novel coronavirus pandemic and adjustments are needed as cases are rising.

The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,447 new cases and 12 additional deaths.

The state has a total of 171,626 cases and 5,017 deaths, officials say.

As of Oct. 13, Lorain County reported 2,321 confirmed cases and 81 deaths, according to data from Lorain County Public Health.

Lorain County is under a Level 2 orange alert and reported 149 cases between Sept. 28 and Oct. 11, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Lorain County is not among high incidence counties.

DeWine said the increases in cases is concerning with the state averaging 1,475 cases daily over the past seven days along with a 3.9 percent positive testing rate.

At the end of September, the governor said the state was averaging just over 1,000 cases daily and positive tests have increased from Sept. 23.

Out of Ohio’s 88 counties, 51 are high incidence or Level 3 red alert, showing how much the virus has spread throughout the state.

Be part of the solution in fighting coronavirus locally. Check LORAINCOUNTYHEALTH.COM.

A county is considered high incidence if there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people in a twoweek period of time.

“We’re not trying to scare anybody, but these measures have never

looked like this since we’ve done this,” DeWine said. “We’ve never had as many high incidence counties and you still have a lot of red counties.”

The state could be in for a difficult winter and it may get worse before things get better, he said.

DeWine encouraged Ohioans to wear masks and to continue to social

distancing.

“What we do collectively is going to determine, frankly, what the next few months are going to be,” he said. “If we could get mass compliance up 85 90% of the state, every county, it would fundamentally change what the next few months will be like.”

He thanked Ohioans for the role in helping

the state mostly avoid the large spikes seen in other states.

“But, we must remember — we can control and mitigate a lot of this,” DeWine said. “We have done it before, we can do it again.

“Ohioans are resilient, tough people. When the goals are clear, when we set our sights on these goals, we can do it.”

COURTESY OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH As of Oct. 13, 51of Ohio’s 88counties are level three red or high incidence for COVID-19cases. Over the past two weeks the state of Ohio has seen increases in case counts.