Virus cases in Ohio go over 3,000 once again
As Ohio exceeded 3,000 new coronavirus cases Sunday for the third time in four days, Gov. Mike Dewine issued a pre-election Day statement urging Ohioans to put aside their political divisions and rise to “higher ground” in the fight against the pandemic.
Dewine said COVID-19 “cares not whether we voted for Donald Trump or Joe Biden,” calling it “an enemy that is relentless and clearly on the march.”
“Throughout our history, in the face of a shared enemy, we have come together as a people ...,” he said. “As we confront this new enemy, time is not on our side. We must focus. We must rally together. And, in two days when this election is over, we must – as Ohioans – immediately pull together to fight it.
“The stakes could not be higher.” The Ohio Department of Health reported Sunday that another 3,300 Ohioans have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the statewide total since the start of the pandemic to 219,000. Though the daily case total fell short of Friday’s record single-day case total of 3,845, it represents 385 more cases than what was reported Saturday.
The spike also exceeds the threeweek daily average of 2,393 new cases per day and is the 17th day Ohio has had more than 2,000 cases.
Two more coronavirus-related deaths were reported Sunday in Ohio, well below the three-week average of 14 statewide deaths per day. As of Sunday, 5,303 Ohioans have been killed by the virus.
On Sunday, new hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units also both lagged below the three-week daily averages.
There were 88 more people hospitalized with COVID-19, the state reported, a drop from the three-week daily average of 134. Meanwhile, 17 people were admitted to hospital intensive care units, four below the three-week average of 21 new ICU admissions a day.
That brings the total statewide hospitalizations up to 19,220 and intensive care admissions to 3,876.
Dewine urged Congress to quickly pass a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill, but added that every Ohioan also has an obligation.
“We all need to protect each other – our families, our friends, our neighbors and Ohioans we don’t even know,” Dewine said. “We must do this to keep the virus at bay until we get the vaccine. And when we do, we will need the voices of both parties emphasizing the importance of getting that vaccine out and of people choosing to receive it.”
Ohioans “are people who unite in the toughest of times, because our shared bonds will always be stronger than our differences,” Dewine said. elagatta@dispatch.com @Ericlagatta