Ohio reports 7,100+ new cases of COVID-19, shattering previous record
Gov. DeWine: “We have to take action.”
TOLEDO, Ohio — “It’s not a question — it’s not an option. The governor doesn’t have the option to do something. We have to take action. It would be totally irresponsible at this point not to take action.”
Today, Ohio reported over 7,100 new cases of COVID-19 and 35 additional deaths.
Gov. Mike DeWine says that the state’s hospitals are overwhelmed and employees are calling out sick with coronavirus, not because they work in an environment with COVID patients, but because the communities in which they live are labeled as “high incidence” for spread of COVID-19. During his address to the state Wednesday, the governor said that one of the main reasons he’s putting new restrictions on businesses who rely on large gatherings, is for healthcare and frontline workers.
As more counties enter the “red” (as pictured), the governor says he hasn’t ruled-out another shutdown.
He says that hospitals are assisting him in making decisions about new statewide restrictions.
“We don’t want to close anything, nothing; but the buck does stop with me. And I can tell you, medical experts have told me and hospitals have told me, at the rate we’re going it is not sustainable. We are going to have very bad consequences if it continues going at the rate it’s going,” he said.
