COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine once again gave the latest updates regarding Ohio's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 5,800 people in the state have tested positive for the disease under the CDC's new guidelines, with 1,755 hospitalized and 548 in the ICU. Of those patients, 231 have died.
DeWine was joined, as always, by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton. DeWine himself has lauded state residents for doing a "bang up job" with social distancing, and cites it as a major reason the state's projected COVID-19 peak will now only be 1,600 new cases per day.
The governor also says his administration is already planning for how Ohio will recover from the economic recession the pandemic and subsequent shutdown will bring. Several protesters gathered outside the Statehouse Thursday to express their displeasure with DeWine's response, but although he disagreed with their message he said he understood their frustration and supported their First Amendment rights. Polls have should roughly 80% of Ohioans currently approve of the job the governor is doing.
There were no protesters on this day, but sill several key points:
- The CDC has updated its case confirmation guidelines, which the state will follow as new testing methods become available
- Husted says the state's unemployment office is continuing to take requests, but that there are currently 38,000 open jobs in Ohio
- Medicaid is loosening some of its restrictions
- First Lady Fran DeWine shared a recipe for sidewalk chalk paint
Watch DeWine's full remarks again in the player below: