Gov. Mike DeWine, left, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Dr. Amy Acton, Department of Health director, lead Ohio’s response to COVID-19. (Photo by AP)

COVID-19 deaths in Mahoning County jumped by nearly 50 percent in one day.

The number of deaths reported Wednesday in the county was 28 — up from 19 a day earlier.

Mahoning is the leader, by far, among the 88 counties in the state for COVID-19 deaths. Cuyahoga, which has more than five times Mahoning’s population, is second with 23 deaths.

The newly reported death figure “does not indicate the number of individuals who have died in the last 24 hours,” the Mahoning County Public Health department said.

The reporting is based on when death certificates are filed, said Tracy Styka, a county health spokeswoman.

“It takes time to get death certificates filed,” she said. “We wanted to make sure people didn’t think it was all one day.”

Data from the Ohio Department of Health Wednesday shows that only one of the newly reported Mahoning County cases was the previous day: a woman in her 70s Tuesday.

The other cases occurred in the past week.

MAHONING SPIKE

When asked about the Mahoning County spike, Dr. Amy Acton, the state health director, said: “In a place like Youngstown, where I grew up, people like me growing up the way I grew up, workers on the front line who can’t afford to stay home right now, who are in essential businesses, are disproportionately represented.”

Overall, the Mahoning Valley has reported 42 COVID-19 deaths as of Wednesday: 28 in Mahoning, eight in Trumbull and six in Columbiana, which had five deaths a day earlier.

The three counties made up 22 percent of the state’s 193 confirmed deaths from novel coronavirus as of Wednesday.

The state had confirmed 167 deaths and 32 in the Valley a day earlier.

“We are still deep in the midst of a health crisis,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said. “More people are dying. These are people with families, with loved ones. We deeply, deeply care what happens to them. We are still in a battle that must be won.”

The 28 dead in Mahoning County range in age from 50 to 96 and have died between March 23 and Tuesday, according to Ohio Department of Health data.

Of the dead, 56 percent were at least 80 years old, with 37 percent between the ages of 60 and 79, and 7 percent between the ages of 50 and 59.

The county public health department said 43 percent were long-term care residents and all but one of the dead had underlying health conditions.

In addition to being No. 1 in deaths among Ohio counties, Mahoning was third in COVID-19 hospitalizations with 138 and fifth in total cases with 305. Mahoning is the 12th-most populous county in Ohio.

Despite the huge increase in reported deaths, a few positive signs emerged in Mahoning County. The county saw only five new diagnosed cases and four more hospitalizations from Tuesday to Wednesday.

TRUMBULL, COLUMBIANA

Trumbull County saw the number of cases increase from 110 Tuesday to 129 Wednesday and hospitalizations go from 57 Tuesday to 65 Wednesday.

Though it hasn’t had any new COVID-19 deaths since last Friday, Trumbull is tied for eighth highest for deaths of any county in Ohio. By population, it’s the 15th largest. It’s ninth in total cases and seventh in hospitalizations.

Columbiana County reported 71 cases and 47 hospitalizations Wednesday, up from 59 and 36, respectively, Tuesday.

Columbiana County also reported a sixth death Wednesday.

Columbiana is the 26th most- populous county in the state, but has the 12th-most deaths, the eighth-most hospitalizations and the 17th-most cases.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons reported Wednesday that five more employees of the Elkton federal prison in Columbiana County tested positive for COVID-19. That brings the number of employees there with the virus to at least eight in addition to 10 inmates — the same number as Tuesday. Three Elkton inmates have died from the virus, according to the BOP.

STATEWIDE

Statewide, 1,495 people were hospitalized as of Wednesday because of the virus, up from 1,354 Tuesday.

On Wednesday, 472 people were in intensive-care units, up from 417 Tuesday.

“Every single number is a person,” Acton said. “These are more than just numbers.”

While the COVID-19 peak hasn’t hit, Acton said: “Every single modeler is saying we must keep doing what we’re doing. You’re succeeding, but the second you ease back, we’ll see ourselves in an outbreak that will overwhelm our system. Don’t stop doing what you’re doing.”

If social distancing and other precautions weren’t taken, Acton said there would be about 62,000 cases of the virus per day in the state.

Husted said: “Life won’t go back exactly what it was pre-COVID-19. There will be many thoughtful decisions on what we must do to stop a second surge. It will be a gradual pullback of restrictions as we try to get back to normal.”

Also Wednesday, Gov. Mike DeWine said he’s asked the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to send up to $1.6 billion to employers — $1.4 billion to private employers and $200 million to local governments and school districts — in dividends “to ease the economic impact of COVID-19 on Ohio’s economy and business community. We know this will help.”

The state has returned money to employers for years. They are amounts exceeding outstanding balances caused by a declining number of claims of work-related injuries and deaths. The proposed amounts equal 100 percent of the premiums employers paid in 2018. About 248,000 employers are in the system.

“For those employers, it means one less bill to worry about,” DeWine said.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com