State’s latest info on BMV’s, and hiring virus ‘detectives’; latest Clinton County numbers

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Clinton County officials reported Wednesday morning that the county remains at 25 confirmed cases plus six probable ones for a total of 31, comprised of 17 women and 14 men ages 26-78; 23 have recovered, and three are currently hospitalized.

The State of Ohio reports, as of the Wednesday afternoon update, 21,576 total COVID-19 cases (including probable cases). Overall, 55 percent are males and 44 percent females, with 1,151 ICU admissions, 4,052 hospitalizations and 1,225 deaths (including deaths from probable cases).

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine did not hold a press conference Wednesday; the next one is set for Thursday afternoon.

BMV’s opening?

Many Ohioans are wondering when they can return to their local BMV.

Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced this week that, although opening dates for individual locations have not yet been finalized, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) deputy registrars around the state may begin reopening as early as later this month.

Upon reopening, every deputy registrar will offer online the Ohio BMV’s Get In Line, Online program that was launched by Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted as a pilot project last year. A partnership between InnovateOhio and the Ohio BMV has been expanding the project to locations statewide.

There are currently 48 deputy registrars that had been offering Get in Line, Online, and all other locations that had not yet offered the service will offer it to customers upon reopening.

“So far, this system has saved Ohioans nearly 9,000 hours of wait time,” said Husted. “In order to reduce lines and the time each Ohioan has to physically spend in the BMV, we are working with InnovateOhio to expand the program throughout the state by the end of May so that every open BMV will offer this service.”

In preparation for reopening, deputy registrars are also reactivating and hiring staff, making accommodations to their facilities to ensure social distancing, and ensuring that safety measures are in place, such as cough/sneeze shields, at customer-facing workstations.

Be a ‘detective’

The Ohio Department of Health is asking community members to consider joining the force helping to stop the spread of COVID-19. Contact tracing positions are available.

Are you interested in helping track down where COVID-19 is spreading? Are you a great communicator, even in difficult situations? Check out the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Contact Tracer and Supervisor opportunities. The positions are temporary during the response and the hours/workdays will vary based on need.

The Contact Tracers are “disease detectives” who will gather critical information from Ohio residents diagnosed with COVID-19 by identifying their contacts and calling every contact who lives in Ohio. The supervisory role will oversee, support and assist a unit of Contact Tracers.

If you are eager to help make a positive impact on the health of Ohioans during this pandemic, clink on the links below to learn more about these critically important roles and to apply:

• https://bit.ly/2Wx5upf

• https://bit.ly/2Wx5upf

Testing

A new partnership announced last week between the state of Ohio, Thermo Fisher, and ROE Dental Scientific will allow for a steady supply of testing reagent and swabs. With Ohio’s new increased testing capacity, Ohio will prioritize testing in the following categories:

“It’s important to remember, that testing is only one response to this virus. It allows us to quickly identify individuals infected with COVID-19, promptly isolate them, and determine who they’ve been in close contact with to minimize the spread,” said Gov. DeWine. “Increased testing capacity does not replace infection control and prevention practices such as social distancing, wearing a mask, washing your hands, and sanitizing high-touch surfaces.”

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By Tom Barr

[email protected]

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