WILMINGTON — The State of Ohio’s COVID-19 website incorrectly reported beginning Wednesday that a Clinton Countian had died from the virus; this was due to a coding error at the state level, Clinton County Health District Director Pam Walker-Bauer told the News Journal Wednesday.
The state had corrected that by Thursday afternoon’s update.
Clinton County’s total number of confirmed cases remains at 12, with three of those hospitalized. Four of the 12 have recovered, according to county officials.
Statewide
The State of Ohio reports — as of Thursday’s update — 5,512 confirmed cases in Ohio, with 497 ICU admissions, 1,612 hospitalizations and 213 deaths.
At his daily briefing and via Twitter on Thursday, DeWine praised Ohio companies working to design and to produce personal protection equipment.
“We still have the challenge that we do not have enough,” said DeWine. “It’s our obligation to protect our protectors. If we can’t buy it, we’ll figure out how to re-work our manufacturing supply chain to make it.
“These are companies that normally make products ranging from toys to engine parts. Our partners at JobsOhio helped secure the raw materials we needed. These are true partnerships.
“They’re going to make between 750,000 to 1 million face shields over the next five weeks. Once assembled, they will be delivered to the Ohio Department of Health stockpile, inventoried, and then distributed across the state.
DeWine said, “We have tried every day to tell you what we know when we know it. We’ve had some questions about the curve and how much it was flattened. We’re seeing some of these estimates changing. You’re seeing the estimates getting better, but we also have Ohioans dying every day.
“The track we go on is based on what we all do. We’ve hit a home run. We’ve done a great job, but it is not time to celebrate. The game is not over. The optimistic scenarios are based on a belief that we will continue s ocial distancing at the same level.
“We have to continue doing what we’re doing. If we do that, the new projections will continue. If we let up, they will not continue.”
DeWine added, “If you look at the hospitalizations, they’re going up every day. We compare it every day against the five-day average and we are seeing that those admissions are still going up. But the things we are seeing are still very encouraging. We’re optimistic.”
