DeWine expressed concerns that numbers reported Friday by the Ohio Department of Health were signs of an upward trend. He said that the state’s hospitalization and positivity rates are showing signs of going up.
He said it’s important for Ohioans to get control of the virus before winter.
There have been 156,809 total cases and 4,905 deaths reported in the state since the pandemic started. There were 88 deaths reported in the last day.
DeWine reminded Ohioans Friday that the date deaths are reported does not reflect the day when the deaths occurred.
Hospitalizations increased by 82 for a total of 15,688. There were 15 ICU admissions reported Friday for a total of 3,312.
An antibody study in July revealed that the prevalence of the virus is relatively low among adults, but that many people are still susceptible, said Dr. Abby Norris Turner of Ohio State University.
Over 20 days in July, 720 adult Ohioans were tested for active cases of COVD-19 and for antibodies.
Of those tested, 0.9% had active COVID-19 and 1.5% had evidence of antibodies, Turner said.
President Donald Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump both have tested positive for coronavirus.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden were also tested after the former vice president shared a debate stage with the president on Tuesday in Cleveland. Both of the Bidens tested negative.
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