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OHIO COUNTY COVID DATA:
A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19
in all of Ohio's 88 counties can be found on the Ohio
Public Health Advisory System's website.
All 88 counties have a level of spread that is at least three
times more than what the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) considers high incidence. DeWine encouraged
Ohioans to look more closely at the chart below, which shows the
number of positive cases per 1,000 residents.
PHASE 1B VACCINATIONS:
DeWine announced those in Phase 1B will be able to receive
vaccinations beginning on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Those 80
years of age and older will be prioritized first in this next
phase, roughly totaling 420,000 Ohioans. Ohio is expected to
receive 100,000 doses during the first week of distribution to
Phase 1B.
“With up to 420,000 people 80 years and above, and only 100,000
doses available the first week, it will take several weeks to
vaccinate those 80 years of age and older," said DeWine. "Phase
1B will take a few weeks, and a lot of coordination in
distribution.”
Vaccines for Ohioans 80 years of age and older will be
administered by physicians, local health departments, hospitals,
federally qualified health centers, in-home health service
providers, and some retail pharmacies. As of today, the Ohio
Department of Health has approximately 1,700 providers
registered to distribute vaccines.
The Ohio Department of Health
will be hosting a webinar for registered providers to discuss
expectations, and instructions for distribution. Additional
details will be shared with registered providers in the coming
days.
DeWine anticipates vaccinations will be available to Ohioans 75
years of age and older beginning Monday, January 25. The
following week, vaccinations will be available to those 65 years
of age and older.
“As we include other age ranges, please know that does not mean
vaccinations will be complete for the previous age range,” said
DeWine.
The week of January 25 will include vaccinations for Ohioans
with severe congenital, developmental, or early onset medical
disorders. Additional details about distribution for this group
will be forthcoming.
During the week of February 1, DeWine announced that
vaccinations will be available for personnel in Ohio schools.
The Ohio Department of Heath will send forms to Ohio
superintendents to indicate their school plans to go back to in
full in-person and hybrid learning by March 1, as well as
indicate the number of staff they believe will choose to take
the vaccination. Superintendents will also be asked if a
community partner has been identified to help with the
administering of the COVID-19 vaccines to school personnel.
Additional information about vaccinations can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
BROADBANDOHIO CONNECTIVITY GRANT:
The deadline for the BroadbandOhio Connectivity Grant was
announced, which provided $50 million to schools to help them
purchase equipment for students to access the internet, has been
extended. This program helps schools to fund everything from
hotspots, to Wi-Fi, to access points on school busses. The grant
was funded using Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from the
CARES Act.
The deadline to spend these funds was originally December 30,
2020, however, a second federal stimulus bill was signed at the
of December, which extended the CRF expenditure deadline an
additional year, until December 31, 2021. As a result, this
administration extended the deadline for the BroadbandOhio
Connectivity Grant to the same date, December 31, 2021.
School districts now have more time to spend these funds for
services they provide to students to keep them online.
More information about the grant program can be found at ohio-k12.help.
AMENDED HEALTH ORDER:
DeWine announced that Ohio Department of Health Director
Stephanie McCloud signed the Sixth
Amended Director's Order to Limit Access to Ohio's Nursing Homes
and Similar Facilities, with Exceptions.
This revised order clarifies that in-person compassionate care
visits are permitted in nursing homes and similar facilities.
The new order does not change required precautions all visitors
must take, including but not limited to, wearing of a facial
covering and social distancing.
CURRENT CASE DATA:
In total, there are 753,068 confirmed and probable cases of
COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 9,462 confirmed and probable
COVID-19 deaths. A total of 40,469 people have been hospitalized
throughout the pandemic, including 6,092 admissions to intensive
care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today's full update, including versions with foreign
language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio
Channel's YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or
call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
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