Ohio extended its stay-at-home order to May 1 on Thursday as the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Ohio reached 81, with 19 in the Mahoning Valley.

Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Department of Health director, announced Ohio extended the stay-at-home order to May 1 with at least 81 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the state, including 19 in the Mahoning Valley.

One new death each was reported Thursday in Mahoning and Trumbull counties — and the Ohio Department of Health counted two other deaths the Trumbull County Combined Health District announced a day earlier.

At least 11 are dead in Mahoning County, six in Trumbull and two in Columbiana from COVID-19.

As of Thursday, Mahoning no longer led the state in COVID-19 deaths, with Cuyahoga County having 12.

But Cuyahoga’s population is 1,235,072 while Mahoning’s is 228,683, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Mahoning leads the state in the most deaths per capita — 1 in 20,789 people.

Gov. Mike DeWine extended the stay-at-home order Thursday for the state through May 1.

“The action we’re taking (Thursday) is action that I know will save lives,” DeWine said. “We look forward to the day we can be back open and enjoy our lives and go see our friends and families again.”

He added about the May 1 date: “If we are able to let up, we certainly can do that.”

On March 22, DeWine ordered the closing of nonessential businesses and for the public to stay at home, effective at 11:59 p.m. March 23, through Monday with exemptions. DeWine had said for the past few days that he planned to extend that order.

It officially was extended Thursday and new provisions of it will become effective Monday.

It requires retail businesses that are open to establish the number of people who should be inside at a time.

“We’re not telling them the number because businesses are all different,” DeWine said. “But businesses must determine their number and post it.”

He also called for people traveling to Ohio to self-quarantine for 14 days.

“There are exemptions for those who work over the state lines, but this is for those who have been out of state for some time,” DeWine said.

NEW BOARD

He said he will appoint a board to evaluate and render guidance in situations where two local health departments have come to a different conclusion on what is or is not an essential business.

There will be no appeal process after the board makes a decision and it “has the force of law” behind it, DeWine said.

He also said the state won’t regulate weddings, but receptions cannot have more than 10 people — like other events and gatherings.

“We understand that this is tough,” DeWine said. “It is very difficult. But I would not be making these decisions if it wasn’t a matter of life and death. We have to keep this monster down. It’s not dead. It’s very much alive.”

COVID-19 NUMBERS

At least 81 deaths from COVID-19 in Ohio were confirmed Thursday, up from at least 65 confirmed deaths including 17 in the Valley a day earlier. The state number Wednesday didn’t include two deaths in Trumbull County that the county’s health district reported later that day.

“We know these aren’t just numbers,” DeWine said. “These are the people we know and care about.”

The peak is expected some time between April 15 and May 15, he said, depending on the model being used.

DeWine also said: “We are going to continue to see the numbers go up no matter what we do, but we can do all we can to keep the numbers down.”

The new fatality in Mahoning County is a man in his 70s who died Wednesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The three latest reported deaths in Trumbull County are a man in his 60s who died Wednesday, a man at least 80 years old who died Wednesday and a woman in her 70s who died Monday.

The state had 2,902 confirmed cases of the virus Thursday, up from 2,547 Wednesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Mahoning County reported 192 cases Thursday, up from 177 Wednesday.

Mahoning, the 12th-most populous county in Ohio, continues to have the highest per-capita number of cases and deaths from the virus in the state. The per-capita number for cases in Mahoning is one in 1,191 people.

In terms of raw numbers, it has the fourth-most COVID-19 cases in the state.

Trumbull County reported 68 cases, up from 58 a day earlier.

Trumbull’s seven deaths is the fifth-most in the state, and it has the eighth-most cases in Ohio. It is the 15th-most populous county in Ohio.

Columbiana County had 22 cases, up from 19 Wednesday.

Statewide, 802 people were hospitalized as of Thursday because of COVID-19, up from 679 Wednesday.

Also, 260 people were in intensive-care units Thursday with the virus, up from 222 a day earlier.

ODH director Amy Acton pointed out that 28 percent of people with the novel coronavirus are hospitalized with 9 percent in ICU.

By the numbers

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths in counties in the Mahoning Valley and statewide as of Thursday:

County Cases Hospitalizations Deaths

Mahoning 192 87 11

Trumbull 63 32 6

Columbiana 22 16 2

Ohio 2,902 802 81

SOURCE: Ohio Department of Health