Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, second from left, communications director Lisa Peterson, Ohio Department of Health director Dr. Amy Acton and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, walk into the coronavirus news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

With another confirmed death, Mahoning County has 10 confirmed deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic — the most in the state and the first county to reach double digits in Ohio.

Meanwhile, the Trumbull County Combined Health District reported two more deaths in the county Wednesday, bringing its total number to five from the virus. That’s the fifth-most deaths of any county in the state.

The health district reported the two deaths late Wednesday, after the Ohio Department of Health provided its data.

There were at least 65 confirmed novel coronavirus deaths in Ohio as of Wednesday, not including the two new ones in Trumbull.

Overall, there are 17 deaths in the Mahoning Valley — about one in every four deaths in the state were in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

Mahoning County also had 177 confirmed cases of the virus as of Wednesday, the third-most in the state and the most per capita of any county in Ohio, according to ODH.

Mahoning had nine reported deaths as of Tuesday and four as of Monday’s state report. The 10th death was a woman in her 70s who died Sunday.

Mahoning is the 12th-most populous county in Ohio.

With the two additional deaths, Trumbull now has the fifth-most COVID-19 deaths of any county in the state. It’s the 15th-most populous county in Ohio.

The state data can lag by a few days.

That’s evident by the state finally confirming Wednesday a third death in Trumbull County from the virus. That happened Sunday to a woman in her 70s and was reported Monday by that county’s health district.

Information about the two additional people who died from COVID-19 in Trumbull County was not made available by the county health district.

There were 2,547 confirmed cases of the virus in the state Wednesday, up from 2,199 Tuesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

There were 177 confirmed cases with 78 hospitalized in Mahoning County, up from 153 and 70, respectively, Tuesday.

There were 58 cases with 28 hospitalized in Trumbull County Wednesday, up from 50 and 26, respectively, a day earlier. That is the 10th-most cases of any county in the state.

In Columbiana County, there were 19 cases with 12 hospitalized Wednesday, up from 15 and 9 Tuesday.

There remains two deaths in Columbiana County.

Statewide, 679 people were hospitalized as of Wednesday because of COVID-19, up from 585 Tuesday.

There were 222 people in intensive-care units with the virus Wednesday, up from 198 a day earlier.

“I wish I could give you hope about your summer, but the truth is if the curve peaks in May, it will be a slow process to get to the end of the curve,” said Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health.

She also said: “Don’t forget that everyone is going through the same stress.”

STATE ORDERS

On Wednesday, Acton signed an order, effective immediately, requiring hospitals that don’t do their own COVID-19 testings — most don’t — to send the samples to a hospital that does testing. Gov. Mike DeWine said there are three hospital systems in Cleveland and one in Columbus that have the capacity to do the tests.

Also, DeWine said as soon as the state gets rapid testing, expected next week, these will be available in “free-standing emergency departments, urgent care centers, free-standing ambulatory surgery centers — not in use due to postponement of elective surgeries — and hospital multi-use health care facilities that house a lab service.”

DeWine said he plans to sign an executive order today that he declined to discuss Wednesday, but hinted it will be far-reaching.

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 next Monday with exemptions. DeWine has declined to say when he’ll extend it, but acknowledged it was likely.

Asked about some pastors seeking to bring a large number of people into churches, DeWine said: “Anyone who goes into a big group of people is making a very, very serious mistake. They’re endangering themselves, their family and total strangers. Any pastor who brings a group of people together (is making) a huge mistake.”

DeWine on Wednesday signed an executive order “issuing a plea” to “lenders and landlords across Ohio to work with their small businesses and suspend payments for at least 90 days.”

Acton said her department received all allocated personal protective equipment from the federal Strategic National Stockpile late Tuesday.

“The supplies we received and the state’s reserve will not meet the immediate or future needs of Ohio’s health care providers and first responders,” she said. “This shortage is why our message has been to conserve.”

The state’s Strategic National Stockpile allocation was 107,670 gowns, 552 coveralls, 493,575 gloves, 131,808 face shields, 672,100 surgical masks and 271,450 N95 masks.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com