COLUMBUS, Ohio — As coronavirus (COVID-19) numbers in the state continue to surge, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will hold a press conference to address the state's response.
RELATED: More coronavirus coverage from WKYC
DeWine's press conference, which will begin at 1 p.m. ET, will be streamed in the player above, as well as WKYC's YouTube and Facebook pages.
In particular, DeWine is expected to provide an update on the state's use of the Ohio National Guard to aid staffing issues at Ohio hospitals related to the COVID-19 surge. On Dec. 17, DeWine announced that he was ordering 1,050 members of the Ohio National Guard into the state's hospitals in order to "to help our hospitals deal with the very serious situation that they are now facing."
Of the 1,050 National Guard members, 150 included "highly trained medical personnel, nurses and EMTs." The other 900 consisted of non-medical members who will deal with a variety of other tasks that "will involve transport within the hospital, food and the environmental work that goes on in hospitals."
The latest COVID-19 surge, which has been caused by the omicron variant, has put a strain on both the staffs and capacities of hospitals across the state. Earlier this month, the Cleveland Clinic announced that it was delaying all non-essential surgeries and outpatient procedures that had been scheduled through January 14, 2022.
"In addition to that, we are now working with an Ohio health care staffing company to help our hospitals meet their staffing needs," DeWine said at the time. "This will allow for Ohio hospitals to bring in qualified nurses and other medical personnel from out of state to fill needed positions and help ease some of the pressure on hospitals and their staff over the critical holiday period. While the staff will be concentrated in the places where they’re most needed, the entire state will feel relief. As the arrangement supports the coordination of patient care that has been happening really since the beginning of this pandemic.”
