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With a record number of daily and monthly COVID-19 cases and the most people ever in Ohio hospitals with the virus, Gov. Mike DeWine said: "It is important not to panic."
Even so, DeWine announced Wednesday that he was deploying an additional 1,250 Ohio National Guard members to hospitals to help with staffing problems there as a result of the pandemic. DeWine said Dec. 17 that he was sending 1,050 National Guard members, including 150 medical personnel, to hospitals, particularly in areas hardest hit by the virus.
Nearly 22 months into the pandemic, the state hit two daily records Wednesday.
There were 20,320 COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday, which is the most for any single day during the pandemic. It's 27.1 percent higher than the previous record of 15,989, which was set Dec. 23.
The number of reported cases in Ohio on just Wednesday was more than what was reported for entire months during the pandemic. There were more cases reported Wednesday than for all of April (15,828), May (17,486) or June 2020 (16,276) or June (9,390) or July (17,953) of this year.
DeWine acknowledged Wednesday that the actual numbers of COVID-19 cases reported recently are definitely higher than what's been listed by the Ohio Department of Health as people test positive using at-home kits and don't provide those results.
About 1.4 million at-home tests were distributed in Ohio just this month, DeWine said. Even so, there are shortages in numerous parts of the state.
Also, December, with two days left, already has broken the record for the most COVID-19 cases reported in a month. As of Wednesday, 285,506 COVID-19 cases were reported this month.
The old record was 279,317 in December 2020.
The ODH reported 5,356 people were in Ohio hospitals Wednesday with COVID-19. That is the most ever since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
"We have to really concentrate on what is going on now in our hospitals and getting more people vaccinated," DeWine said.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are "being driven by people in Ohio who are not vaccinated," he said.
He said since June 1, 35,962 people were admitted to Ohio hospitals with COVID-19 with 92.5 percent of them unvaccinated.
"If you're vaccinated, the chances of you ending up in a hospital are pretty darn slim," DeWine said.
It's even smaller if a person gets the COVID-19 vaccination booster shot, he said.
"If you've not been vaccinated, please, please think about being vaccinated," DeWine said. "It is your choice. But the evidence is abundantly clear this is the best way, the best way, to stay out of the hospitals."
As of Wednesday, 54.89 percent of the state's residents are fully vaccinated, according to the ODH.
NATIONAL GUARD
With hospitals struggling with COVID-19 cases and staffing issues, DeWine said Wednesday he would again deploy members of the Ohio National Guard to assist at hospitals.
There will be 1,250 members in this round, which is likely to start in the next couple of weeks. The members would be sent to hospitals for needed work such as patient transport, food services and housekeeping needs.
"This is not something that we take lightly," DeWine said.
DeWine announced Dec. 17 that, effective three days later, 1,050 members of the National Guard, including 150 medical personnel, would be deployed to hospitals in need. About 1,000 are deployed now, according to the Ohio National Guard.
Most of the guard members are in northern Ohio.
This second wave will include few, if any, medical personnel, said Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., the guard's adjutant general.
"We don't expect to see many medical providers, clinicians in this next wave," Harris said. "We've been very deliberate as we've screened each one of our critical medical folks to ensure that don't cannibalize the capacity that already exists in our hospitals."
Dr. Robert Wyllie, Cleveland Clinic's chief of medical operations, said, "All of the hospitals in northern Ohio have stopped elective surgery" because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The hospital systems are under significant stress in northern Ohio," he said.
Wyllie expects even more COVID-19 hospitalizations shortly.
DeWine urged school boards and superintendents to impose face mask mandates for their districts. He said he won't impose a statewide mandate because he didn't believe it's "appropriate."
dskolnick@vindy.com