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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine shares optimistic COVID outlook in interview with 3News' Maureen Kyle as cases and hospitalizations surge

'This omicron comes on very fast, spreads very, very quickly, but once it starts down it generally goes down pretty quickly as well,' Gov. DeWine said.

CLEVELAND — As the state of Ohio experiences record numbers of COVID cases and rising hospitalization rates, Gov. Mike DeWine says there are some tough weeks ahead with the "real concern" being for hospitals.

“What we’re really worried about is our hospitals filling up," Gov. DeWine told 3News' Maureen Kyle in a one-on-one interview Wednesday morning.

But he is also feeling optimistic on moving through the pandemic based on data his office is following within other regions.

"This omicron comes on very fast, spreads very, very quickly, but once it starts down it generally goes down pretty quickly as well," he said.

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Watch our full interview with Gov. DeWine below:

In an effort to ease the burden on hospitals, Gov. DeWine recently ordered more than 2,200 members of the Ohio National Guard to assist at hospitals and testing locations across the state.

So how does Gov. DeWine envision Ohio seeing lower case rates and hospitalizations?

“The answer is simple: Vaccines," Gov. DeWine said while noting again that the majority of hospitalized COVID patients are unvaccinated. "We had over a million people last month who got their booster shot.”

When it comes to testing, meanwhile, Gov. DeWine said availability has become a national problem.

“Production [of tests] in this country is not matching what the demand is."

He said the state has now distributed approximately 5.5 million tests through local health departments and libraries with plans to get more in the hands of Ohioans as soon as possible.

“I’ve told our team, we’re going to buy whatever tests are out there and distribute them for nothing.”

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