Positive cases of COVID-19 continue their downward trend.

On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine confirmed that the state has 155 cases per 100,000, which he called “great progress.”

The goal, he said, is for state data to reflect 50 cases per 100,000 for two consecutive weeks so health orders related to the pandemic can be removed.

During his regular news conference Thursday, DeWine outlined the rise of cases since last May. The peak occurred in December with 845 cases per 100,000, with a steady drop each month.

January had 620, February with 340 and as of Thursday, March has 155.

Last week, the figure was 180 cases per 100,000 for the state.

To achieve 50 cases per 100,000, Ohio needs to average no more than 417 new COVID-19 cases per day for two weeks. The last time the state was that low for a single day was June 17, with 412 new cases reported.

Still, the majority of the state remains in a red,or level 3 public emergency, with 66 counties, including Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

Twenty-one counties are in an orange, or level 2, with one county, Meigs, at a yellow, level 1.

DeWine did discuss county fairs around the state Thursday.

It is anticipated that “full county fairs” will happen this year, with masks and social distancing, he said. A grand stand guideline with limited capacity is included, along with fairs posting signs.

If cases continue to decrease, health orders could be lifted within the first month of fair season, which is June, or along the way, DeWine said.

Guidelines regarding festivals, parades, graduations and proms will be issued within the next week.

An amendment to spring student athletes quarantining was released as well.

Students are now not required to quarantine for incidental exposure in the classroom. Previously, they had to quarantine from extracurricular activities.

As explained by Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health, this new guidance will allow athletes with exposure to the virus to end quarantine after day seven following a negative test, or day 10 without a test.

This will match most other guidelines for Ohioans, he said.

LONG-TERM VISITATIONS

Another largely-discussed topic was visitation with long-term care facilities.

Ursel McElroy, director of the Ohio Department of Aging, explained that visitation to nursing home residents will be allowed, with exceptions.

Should a facility experience an outbreak in multiple areas or if it is located in a county with high positivity, and less than 70 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, residents are not able to have visitors.

An existing order regarding assisted living will now allow visitation to residents’ rooms, as well.

To view the new guidelines, people are encouraged to visit coronavirus.ohio.gov, and aging.ohio.gov.

DeWine did reach a milestone Thursday, as it was the 150th press conference held since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

Also on Thursday, vaccinations for those 50 years old and those with Type II diabetes began to be administered in the state.

COVID-19 DATA

Numbers of cases reported by the Ohio Department of Health continue to show a slowing trend.

In Trumbull County, an increase of 33 cases was reported Thursday, for a total of 14,539. Following behind are Mahoning County with 19,672, an increase of 20, an Columbiana County with 8,218 cases, which is 10 more than the day prior.

Statewide, there were 984,934 cases of COVID-19 Thursday, which is 1,448 more than the day before.

Due to new data collection policy, recent death totals are not available.

As of Thursday, a presumed 933,756 people have recovered from the virus in Ohio.

afox@tribtoday.com