The state is unveiling a new dashboard for those tracking coronavirus in Ohio, with breakdowns of the data that's coming in on where those cases are and who's being tested. 15 deaths were announced today, five more than yesterday.
The number of deaths increased 50% over yesterday. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases climbed to 867, which is a 23% increase from yesterday's numbers. 17% of those testing positive are health care workers. 223 people are hospitalized, with 91 in intensive care. The age range for those in intensive care runs from 23 to 92.
More than 17,000 people have been tested in Ohio. The new dashboard shows county-by-county breakdowns - for instance, the vast majority of hospitalizations are in Cuyahoga County. Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton had said earlier that the larger counties were the most likely to have positive tests because they have larger hospitals that have been doing testing.
And Acton says experts at the Cleveland Clinic and Ohio State University have developed what they say is the first look at Ohio's "curve" with the data that's coming in. She says she feels positive that the modeling is showing that the actions taken so far have lowered the number of coronavirus cases coming into hospitals. But she's still projecting a surge leading to 6,000 to 8,000 new cases a day.
There are still concerns about personal protective equipment. Acton says without physical distancing measures, hospitals would need 65 times the normal amount of PPE. But with physical distancing measures, she says that's lower, but hospitals will still need 40 times the normal amount.
On the economic side, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted also noted that unemployment benefits will be retroactive, so those who are having trouble accessing the state's jobless benefits site at unemployment.ohio.gov will get benefits based of their date of job loss no matter when they file. And he said the bill working its way through Congress would allow self-employed independent contractors known as 1099 workers to be eligible for unemployment, and that Ohio is already working on the guidelines so the state can carry that out when it comes.
