Ohio is no longer recommending students and school staff to quarantine if they were exposed to virus at school while wearing a face mask and following health guidelines, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.
The Ohio Schools COVID-19 Evaluation Team studied coronavirus transmission between students in schools, with preliminary results showing that students who were socially distanced and wearing masks in the classroom did not have an increased risk of catching the virus from a nearby student.
“Because of the data we now have, we’re changing our guidance and are no longer recommending that students who have been exposed to another COVID positive student quarantine - as long as all students have been wearing masks and the exposure took place in a classroom setting,” DeWine said.
Schools should quarantine students if masking and social distancing protocols were not followed. The governor also noted that the change does not apply to students exposed to coronavirus while playing sports or participating in other after-school activities.
“Ultimately, this is one more step to keep our kids in the classroom - which is where we want them to be,” the governor said.
Pfizer will ship 98,475 doses of the coronavirus to be allocated for those who have already received their first shot next week, DeWine said.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses. No one has received two doses of the shot at time, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Also next week, Ohio will receive 70,200 Pfizer vaccines and 69,500 Moderna vaccines, the governor said.
“We can’t control how fast the vaccine comes to Ohio, but we can control how fast we get it out,” DeWine said. “There is a moral imperative to get the vaccine out just as soon as we can.”
To help get the vaccine out as soon as possible, the governor is asking hospitals to administer shots within 24 hours and then report that information to the state within another 24 hours.
As coronavirus vaccines become more and more available, DeWine asked that Ohioans “have a sense of urgency” about getting the vaccination once they are eligible.
“This is your choice,” he said. “If you do choose to get the vaccine, please have a sense of urgency. If you delay, it may take time for the vaccine to become available to you again due to its scarcity.”
The governor also shared concerns about the number of people refusing the COVID-19 vaccination. Anecdotally, he said he was told that only about 40% of nursing home staff are getting the vaccine.
As of Wednesday, 94,078 people have received their first dose of the vaccine in Ohio, according to the state health department.
A federal program aimed at bringing vaccines to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities will have pharmacies visit the facility three times to distribute the vaccine.
On the first visit, all staff and residents who want to be vaccinated will receive the vaccine, DeWine said. During the second visit, a second dose will be administered to those who already received a shot, as well as a first dose for anyone who didn’t get the vaccine during the first visit.
The third visit will allow those who received the first dose during the second visit to get the second shot.
There were 8,178 daily cases of coronavirus reported in Ohio Wednesday, about 600 more than reported Tuesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
There haven been 690,748 total cases reported in the state.
Ohio recorded 133 deaths, bringing the total to 8,855.
Hospitalizations increased by 366 for a total of 38,002.
There were 4,409 COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals Wednesday, with 1,087 in ICUs.
In southwest Ohio, there were 1,176 coronavirus patients in hospitals, accounting for16.36% of the region’s hospital beds. There are 2,090 beds (29.07%) available.
The region has 289 COVID-19 patients in ICUs, with 251 (21.79%) beds available.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 5,837 total ICU admissions associated with the virus.
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