Governor DeWine addresses growing case numbers
Trending
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited the area Friday afternoon to discuss the continuing upsurge in COVID positive cases.
He started his press conference at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport by stating there's been a dramatic increase in COVID positive cases among children.
"Children's hospitals are filling to an unprecedented level," he said.
DeWine said the solution to the crisis is simple -- people ages 12 and up should get vaccinated.
The rate of positive cases is twice as high among children than adults.
"We may have to at least temporarily go to a mask mandate situation," he added.
DeWine said in the hospital Region 8, which includes Washington, Morgan, Monroe and Noble counties, four people were hospitalized with COVID on July 4, and as of Thursday, the number had jumped to 172.
No one was in ICU with COVID on July 4, but on Thursday, 48 were in ICU. No one was on a ventilator in July, but there are 35 as of Thursday, DeWine noted.
He stated 1 in 6 of all hospital patients are COVID positive, and 1 in 4 in the ICU have COVID.
Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., said there were staffing challenges, as healthcare workers are exhausted after dealing with COVID for 18 months or more.
He said people go to the hospital for COVID tests, when they can be taken at a primary care doctor's office or purchased at local pharmacies for self-testing. He noted if someone is sick with something non-COVID related, they should contact their primary doctor or go to an urgent care center.
Dr. Dan Breece, a local emergency medical physician, stepped up and said this was the worst week they've had in the Mid-Ohio Valley in regards to COVID positive admissions. At Marietta Memorial Hospital, they've had more than 79 patients, with 17 on ventilators. The ICU was built for 11 beds, but they had to open an additional 16 beds.
"Our staff is broken," Breece said. "They are stretched beyond belief."
He said they've had 18 COVID-related deaths this week "and they are younger people."
"Every single person that gets vaccinated … it matters," he said.
DeWine stated more people are getting vaccinated every day as someone they know gets sick or dies from COVID.
"As more people die, reality sets in," he said.
"No vaccine in history has been better studied than these," Vanderhoff added. "(COVID) lands too many people in the hospital."
It was also stated that 98 percent of patients since January in Ohio hospitals who are COVID positive are not vaccinated.
"There's an extremely high chance of getting it if you are not vaccinated," DeWine said.
He said thousands of people are vaccinated a day.
"We don't want to get used to death," he said. "We don't want to get used to death from COVID. We're seeing people die who didn't have to die breaks my heart. It's so unnecessary. It's so preventable."
Michele Newbanks can be reached at
mnewbanks@mariettatimes.com.
By the numbers for Region 8:
¯ Hospitalizations: 4 on July 4; 120 on Sept. 3; and 172 as of Thursday.
¯ In ICU: 0 on July 4; 26 on Sept. 3; and 48 as of Thursday.
¯ On ventilators: 0 on July 4; 19 on Sept. 3; and 35 as of Thursday.
Source: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.