(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today provided the following updates on Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UPDATED COUNTY RISK LEVELS
Governor DeWine announced today that new public health data has led the Ohio Department of Health to designate 12 counties as being in a Red Alert Level 3 Public Emergency as defined by the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
Increase to Level 3: Brown Clermont Muskingum
Continue at Level 3: Cuyahoga Erie Fairfield Franklin Licking Lucas Marion Mercer Montgomery
Decrease to Level 2: Allen Medina
Decrease to Level 1: Adams Defiance Fulton Henry Knox Lake Paulding Williams
Detailed information all of Ohio’s 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System’s website. The system was developed to provide local health departments, community leaders, and the public with data and information on the severity of the COVID-19 spread in the counties in which they live. The system consists of four levels with specific risk-level guidelines. Each level is calculated with data gathered on seven public health indicators.
IMPROVING MINORITY HEALTH
Today, Governor DeWine released the final Minority Health Strike Force report and the state’s executive response.
The Minority Health Strike Force was formed in April to examine the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on minority communities, as well as broader health disparities and racial injustices. Currently, African Americans represent 14 percent of Ohio’s population but are 24 percent of positive COVID-19 cases, 32 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations, and 19 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Ohio. Similarly, at least 6 percent of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ohio are Latino, despite only representing 3.9 percent of Ohio’s population.
The COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint lists 34 recommendations on dismantling racism, removing public health obstacles, improving the social/economic and physical environments, and strengthening data collection to better track disparities.
In response to the Strike Force’s report, Governor DeWine issued Ohio’s Executive Response: A Plan of Action to Advance Equity. The action plan outlines efforts to reinforce the DeWine Administration’s commitment to advancing health equity and establishing Ohio as a model for justice, equity, opportunity, and resilience.
As part of his commitment to equity, Governor DeWine also announced the creation of the new Ohio Governor’s Equity Advisory Board.
The Board will work to improve Ohio’s work to dismantle racism and promote health equity. Board members will draw on the expertise within Ohio’s communities of color and will represent diverse viewpoints from sectors like education, healthcare, public and private business, community organizations, and members of the criminal justice community.
“We are committed to solutions, because as I have stated before, racism is a public health crisis. Each of us has a responsibility to be mindful of and work to counteract racial and other disparities that hold Ohioans back from reaching their full God-given potential,” said Governor DeWine. “I will not shy away from addressing these long-entrenched inequalities among our fellow Ohio citizens. Fortunately, we have many great partners in this mission, and we are grateful to the individuals and organizations that provided feedback to the strike force and who have worked with my administration on this issue.”
“Being a person of color should not dictate your health outcomes. As the Health Commissioner for the City of Cincinnati and member of the COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force, I am proud of the work of my fellow strike force members to address these health inequities. The interim report and blueprint address short term and long term recommendations, as we need sustainable efforts to address these multi-faceted issues. The Governor’s response to the blueprint is action-oriented and his formation of the Governor’s Equity Impact Board shows that he is serious about the plan being implemented and committed to all Ohioans,” Dr. Melba R. Moore, Cincinnati Health Department Health Commissioner.
“The COVID-19 Ohio Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint sets a foundation that promotes sustained long-term and lifetime wellness and focuses on individuals and communities of color who disproportionately are afflicted with health disparities and chronic disease conditions. We understand that improvements to healthcare access and social and economic factors and determinants of health are critical to addressing disparities and improving health outcomes for all Ohioans. I commend Governor DeWine for taking the blueprint and quickly working with his administration to outline concrete next steps to improve the health and wellbeing of all Ohioans and advance equity across the state of Ohio,” Dr. Charles Modlin, MD, Executive Director Minority Health, Founder / Director Minority Men’s Health Center & Urologist, Cleveland Clinic
CURRENT COVID-19 DATA
There are 105,426 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 3,755 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 12,023 people have been hospitalized, including 2,743 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel’s YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
The Miami Trace Panthers have a final huddle before facing the Jackson Ironmen in a 2019 Frontier Athletic Conference game. Photo by Dan Ramey/Litter Media
“The waiting is the hardest part” – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Governor DeWine told reporters during his COVID-19 Response News Conference, he would address contact sports for Fall in his Tuesday session. Meanwhile, football and soccer teams across the state continue to practice for what they hope will be a season.
The Governor did however give a bit of a preview saying the decision would be made by parents and by schools. “We’re going to restrict the number of fans. We want the athletes to compete. We want the young people to have their season. But we want to do it as safely as possible, so this will be a little disruptive for some people.”
One of the priorities pertaining to fan participation, DeWine said his team wants to make sure parents can see their kids play, “and for the rest of us, we’ll have to hear about the game or maybe we can pick it up on the internet… But, it’s about the kids.”
The Governor delivered hope for the details to be worked out this weekend forTuesday’s News Conference. Soccer’s calendar permitted teams to have their first matches after August 21st, but they’ve been suspended until a decision from the Statehouse. Football’s regular season is set to begin the following week, with most teams across Southern Ohio set to play August 28th.
“We’ve been working with the Ohio High School Athletic Association to get it right, to provide guidelines to make it as safe as possible.” DeWine said he had a great deal of confidence in the coaches and plans to have a call with some of Ohio’s coaches over the next few days.
“They really have the opportunity not just in practice and not just in the game tom impress upon their athletes the importance of keeping their distance and being safe. But it’s also important what young people do when they’re not playing” referring to during their down time away from the playing fields.
“We always look to our coaches for leadership” DeWine continued, “in an era of the pandemic, leadership and fighting the coronavirus is probably their most important job this year.”
The Scioto Valley Conference released a statement regarding contact sports Wednesday afternoon.
“As of today, there is a Testing Mandate (Covid-19) from the Ohio Department of Health. As long as this mandate is in place there will be no contact sports. For the SVC that means soccer and football.”
The release added “If the mandate is lifted, soccer will be played as scheduled. Football will have a modified schedule. League games will begin Friday August 28. League games will continue through Friday October 2. These six league dates will determine the league championship. October 9 all SVC schools will be participating in the State playoffs. The seventh league game (October 16) will be optional for schools to play or not. As circumstances change, adjusts may need to be made.”
As for rest SVC sanctioned fall sports (golf, girls tennis, cross country and volleyball) they will go on as scheduled. The exception is the SVC Volleyball Preview which has been cancelled.
Statewide as of 2pm ET Wednesday, August 12, 2020 (difference since Tuesday at 2pm ET): Ohio has 104,248 (+1,422) total COVID-19 cases with 82,310 (+1,425) presumed recoveries, 11,901 (+141) hospitalizations and 3,734 (+26) deaths due to the virus.
Cases by county in the Scioto Valley Region since the count began in March 2020: (Data compares Tuesday’s Report with Wednesday’s from the State’s COVID-19 dashboard) which show 69 new cases in the 10 county region over the last 24 hours, the most being in Scioto County (+17), Fairfield County (+16) and Ross County (+15).
Most of the counties in the region report the number of active cases via their social media pages. Some of them include new report daily while others have gone to a report every few days on their social media pages or their websites. As noted in a recent #LitterMediaLIVE broadcast, Ross County is the only Health Department which does not report the active cases its handling. A scan of the sites Tuesday afternoon show a total of 574 active cases in the region, with 407 of those located in Fairfield County.
The state dashboard shows Highland County has suffered a second COVID-19 related death since Tuesday’s report.
In cooperation with the Scioto County Emergency Management Agency, the Scioto County Health Department released an announcement regarding a Wheelersburg Nursing Home with a COVID-19 outbreak. The announcement notes Best Care Nursing and Rehabilitation has an outbreak among its staff and residents.
NOTE: Numbers in parenthesis below represent the difference since Tuesday’s statewide report. Active case were tallied via the respective Health Department posts via their social media pages.
ROSS, (ORANGE/Level 2): 509 cases (+15), 265 recoveries (+14), 64 Hospitalizations (+1), 4 deaths (+0). ACTIVE CASES:(RCHD does not release an active case number)
2020 Grand Champion Market Goat: Garret Britton; Reserve Champion Market Goat: Allisen Jones, Hare & Livestock Raisers; 3rd, Rylee Elliott, Amazing Country Kids; 4th, Macie Elliott, Amazing Country Kids; 5th, Hailee Smith, P.V. Hustlers
Class 1: 1st, Madison Leach, Country Kids; 2nd, Logan Miller, We Feed ‘Em Well; 3rd, Parker Bodary, We Feed ‘Em Well; 4th, Camron Naumovski, Clover Bees; 5th, Adam Leeth, Barnyard Buddies; 6th, Malina Bayless, Gone Country; 7th, Kaitlyn Dickey, Born in a Barn
Class 2: 1st; Jackson Crago, Buckskin Ramblers; 2nd, Chloe Johnson, Boots N Bows; 3rd, Gabriel Corcoran, We Feed ‘Em Well; 4th, Isaiah Schmidt, Country Kids; 5th, Lakota Cundiff, Barnyard Buckeyes
Class 3: 1st, Olivia Stonerock, Nutty Buddies; 2nd, Chloe Johnson, Boots N Bows; 3rd, Alli McGuire, Elite Eagles; 4th, Madison Sturgell, All American Achievers; 5th, Raegan Gilliland, Deerfield Happy Helpers
Class 5: 1st, Emma Specht, Ultimate Survivors; 2nd, Gavin Kingery, Elite Eagles; 3rd, Wesley Hamilton, Blue Ribbon; 4th, Emma Specht, Ultimate Survivors; 5th, Anna Ackley, Deerfield Happy Helpers
Class 6: 1st, Rylee Elliott, Amazing Country Kids; 2nd, Chloe Johnson, Boots N Bows; 3rd, Abigail Ackley, Deerfield Happy Helpers; 4th, Logan Whitley, Gone Country; 5th, Alexis Arthurs, Buckskin Ramblers
Class 7: 1st, Macie Elliott, Amazing Country Kids; 2nd, Abbi Stanforth, Tip of the County; 3rd, Kailee Adkins, Clover Bees; 4th, Bailey Paugh, P.V. Hustlers; 5th, Macy Corcoran, We Feed ‘Em Well
Class 8: 1st, Cameron Hall, Adena Hustlers; 2nd, Braeden Martin, All American Achievers; 3rd, Tanner Paugh, P.V. Hustlers; 4th, Braeden Martin, All American Achievers; 5th, Montana Zeisler, Deerfield Happy Helpers
Class 9: 1st, Jacquelyn Crum, Barnyard Buckeyes; 2nd, Rebekah Bennett, We Feed ‘Em Well; 3rd, Chase Knisely, Clarksburg Jolly Beef Feeders; 4th, Cameron Butler, Amazing Country Kids; 5th, Ranger Park, Ultimate Survivors; 6th, Garret Mercer, Clover Bees
Class 10: 1st, Keegan Hall, Adena Hustlers; 2nd, Cameron Butler, Amazing Country Kids; 3rd, Colby Campbell, Blue Ribbon; 4th, Payton Whitley, Gone Country; 5th, Braylon Leach, Country Kids
Class 11: 1st, Wynn Williams, Tip of the County; 2nd, Tanner Paugh, P.V. Hustlers; 3rd, Averi McFadden, Tip of the County; 4th, Mason Drum, Amazing Country Kids; 5th, Roni Lytle, We Feed ‘Em Well
Class 12: 1st, Allisen Jones, Hare & Livestock Raisers; 2nd, Hayley Crouch, Elite Eagles; 3rd; Kelsey Morris, Deerfield Happy Helpers; 4th, Jaiden Hollis, Clever Clovers; 5th, Kendyl Shaeffer, All American Achievers
Class 13: 1st, Gracie Long, Clarksburg Jolly Beef Feeders; 2nd, Kara Brown, Clever Clovers; 3rd, Macie Rann, Boots N Bows; 4th, Rilee Adkins, Clover Bees; 5th, Bailey Paugh, P.V. Hustlers
Class 14: 1st, Garret Britton, Jr. Livestock Growers; 2nd, Macie Elliott, Amazing Country Kids; 3rd, Hailee Smith, P.V. Hustlers; 4th, Garret Britton, Jr. Livestock Growers; 5th, Kaylee McVicker, Elite Eagles
Since Friday’s announcement by the OHSAA and its plan for six regular season games with all football teams being eligible for the post season beginning October 9th, leagues are juggling their schedules.
The Frontier Athletic Conference released its schedule Monday, leaving the first week open for non-conference games and essentially moving the conference games up from October 2nd on its previous schedule.
One source tells Litter Media the Ohio Valley Conference has elected to play six league games. Another says the Scioto Valley Conference will play a six game conference schedule and play a seventh after the playoffs begin and teams are eliminated.
The Mid State League was actively reworking its football schedule Monday.
Governor Mike DeWine danced around the topic of high school football when asked by reporters in his Tuesday news conference. It was speculated the Governor would address the topic today, but now football fans as well as the other fall contact sports (soccer and field hockey) will likely have to wait until his next news conference, Thursday.
Meanwhile, school versus school scrimmages have been scrapped and the shuffling with schedules continues for athletic directors across the state.
The Frontier Athletic Conference revamped schedule:
WEEK 1 – August 28: Wheelersburg at Chillicothe, Hillsboro at Western Brown, Jackson at Logan, Eastern Pike at McClain, Circleville at Miami Trace, Washington CH at Minford.
WEEK 2 – September 4: Washington CH at Chillicothe, Jackson at McClain, Hillsboro at Miami Trace
WEEK 3 – September 11: Chillicothe at Hillsboro, McClain at Miami Trace, Washington CH at Jackson
WEEK 4 – September 18: Chillicothe at McClain, Hillsboro at Washington CH, Miami Trace at Jackson
WEEK 5 – September 25: Miami Trace at Chillicothe, Hillsboro at Jackson, McClain at Washington CH
WEEK 6 – October 2: Jackson at Chillicothe, McClain at Hillsboro, Miami Trace at Washington CH
