With three more confirmed COVID-19 deaths, Mahoning County is the clear leader among Ohio counties.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Department of Health director, are warning that statewide numbers are grossly underestimated because of a lack of testing and because some people don’t know they’re sick.

They are urging people not to take the virus threat lightly.

While Ohioans have reduced the number of fatalities by maintaining social distancing and largely following the state’s stay-at-home order, DeWine said, “No one should think this is over,” and it will “unfortunately continue for a while.”

As of Friday, Mahoning County had 31 confirmed virus deaths.

It was 19 on Tuesday, jumped to 28 Wednesday, there were no deaths Thursday — and then the total rose to 31 on Friday.

The latest fatalities are a man in his 70s Thursday, a man at least 80 years old Wednesday and a woman in her 70s Tuesday, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health.

The reporting is based on when death certificates are filed, so numbers often lag.

Of the 31 Mahoning fatalities, 45 percent were long-term care residents and all but one had an underlying health condition, according to the county public health department. The age range of the dead is 50 to 96.

There were a total 42 COVID-19 deaths in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties as of Friday.

Trumbull was still at eight deaths and Columbiana remained at six. There hasn’t been a confirmed death of a resident of either county since April 3 though a Columbiana County fatality that day wasn’t reported until five days later because that man died in another state.

The three counties made up 19.5 percent of all COVID-19 fatalities in Ohio.

Just last Friday, there were 24 COVID-19 fatalities in the three counties — 12 in Mahoning, seven in Trumbull and five in Columbiana.

Mahoning’s 31 deaths were the most from the virus of any Ohio county as of Friday.

SECOND TO CUYAHOGA

Second in Ohio is Cuyahoga — a county with more than five times Mahoning’s population — with 22 deaths. Cuyahoga had 23 confirmed deaths Wednesday and Thursday. No reason was given Friday why its total was reduced by one.

In Mahoning County, the number of COVID-19 cases increased Friday to 358 from 337 Thursday with hospitalizations going to 156 Friday from 149 Thursday. Mahoning had the most cases and hospitalizations per capita of any county in Ohio.

Mahoning was fifth in total cases and fourth hospitalizations in the state even though it’s the 12th-most populous county in Ohio.

Among the confirmed cases in Mahoning County is Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti’s husband, Frank, who was released from the hospital Thursday after a three-week stay, according to fellow Commissioner David Ditzler.

Rimedio-Righetti has been practicing self-quarantining for about three weeks.

“She’s been doing well,” Ditzler said, noting that his colleague has been actively participating in meetings via Skype.

Trumbull saw its cases increase to 149 Friday from 137 Thursday and its hospitalizations at 74 Friday compared to 65 Thursday.

Trumbull had the 10th-most COVID-19 deaths among Ohio counties and was ninth in cases and seventh in hospitalizations as of Friday. It’s the 15th-most populous county in the state.

Columbiana saw its cases increase from 82 Thursday to 92 Friday and its hospitalizations go from 52 Thursday to 58 a day later. Of that county’s cases, 10 are inmates and 10 are employees at the Elkton federal prison, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Half of the six deaths in the county were inmates.

Columbiana was tied for the 12th-most deaths among Ohio counties, had the 16th-most cases and the eighth-most hospitalizations. It’s the 26th-most populous county in the state.

STATEWIDE

Ohio had 5,878 cases of the virus Friday, up from 5,512 on Thursday.

Statewide, 1,755 people were hospitalized as of Friday because of the virus, up from 1,612 Thursday.

There were 548 people in intensive-care units Friday, up from 497 Thursday.

“All of these numbers are a gross underestimation” of the actual numbers, Acton said. “These numbers are the tip of the iceberg.”

That’s because of a lack of testing and because several people have such mild cases that they don’t know they have the virus, Acton said.

The state has been able to test only 58,000 people, Acton said.

A vaccine for novel coronavirus is 12 to 18 months away, she said.

When asked about people doubting the severity of the virus, DeWine said: “This is deadly. This is not a game.”

DeWine also said that for the first time since the pandemic hit, he doesn’t plan to have a news conference about it this weekend. But, he said, that could change if one is needed.

COVID-19 Numbers

The number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in counties in the region and statewide as of Friday:

Mahoning: 355, 156, 31

Trumbull: 149, 74, 8

Columbiana: 92, 58, 6

Ohio: 5,878, 1,755, 231