Too much for Ohio flattening the coronavirus curve.
Governor Mike DeWine moved aggressively to slow the spread of the virus by shutting down the economy and issuing orders to stay home, but COVID-19 numbers have risen again after DeWine began reopening the state.
There have been 9,779 new cases in the past two weeks alone, a 73 percent increase over the number in the previous two weeks, according to the latest count by NBC News. And on Tuesday, 13 more deaths and 1,076 new cases were reported.
In total, 2,876 people have died from the coronavirus in Ohio out of the 52,865 cases reported since the start of the pandemic, NBC News figures show.
Dr. Stephen Blatt, medical director of Infectious Diseases at TriHealth Hospitals in Cincinnati, attributed the increase to people in Ohio who let their guard down, especially young people who are becoming increasingly infected.
“I don’t think we reopened too soon, our numbers were very good,” Blatt told NBC News. “The problem is that people don’t wear masks. You go out and everywhere you look they don’t wear masks ”.
Ohio is not the only state that has seen a huge jump in numbers. Arizona, Florida and Texas in particular have reported an explosion of new cases. And nationwide, there have been more than 2.7 million reported cases and nearly 130,000 deaths, the latest NBC News figures show.
In other developments:
- The United States economy recovered 4.8 million of the more than 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic began, while the unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent. President Donald Trump touted the June numbers, but experts warned that a huge job gap persists and that the latest coronavirus surge could spell more pain on the horizon.
- It was in full steam for the July 4th celebration on the National Mall, with a huge fireworks display. But despite Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s health concerns, participants will not be required to wear the 300,000 face masks that will be available to those who want them.
DeWine received bipartisan praise for acting decisively to secure his status long before President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. Both he and Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former director of health, were praised for leading the state through the crisis.
So far, DeWine has not hinted that he intends to order masks as Governor Tom Wolf of neighboring Pennsylvania did on Tuesday, and neither the governor nor his spokesman responded to an email seeking comment on the contentious issue. .
While DeWine is a Republican, it is not clear that a masked directive will fly in a state where the Republican Party has a majority in the legislature and where conservative lawmakers resisted the governor’s moves to curb the coronavirus by closing the state. .
Ohio State Representative Tavia Galonski, a Democrat, said she wants DeWine to try.
“Sure, there would be people who would complain, but those same people had an Ohio that we could all be proud of before DeWine stood in line and ran,” Galonski told NBC News. “I think Ohioans would have responded quite well to an authoritarian figure they could trust by telling them to put on a mask.”
Blatt said he knows the masks will be difficult to sell with some in Ohio.
“I am sure the governor is struggling with that,” he said. “If there was some way to enforce the mask, it would be helpful.”
Acton resigned in June after Ohio Republicans tried to curtail his powers and protesters besieged his home demanding an end to state measures to stay home. The governor said Acton would continue to serve as his primary health adviser.
Not long after, the number of coronavirus cases began to increase again in Ohio.
When asked if there could be a connection between Acton’s departure and the increase in cases, Blatt said no. “She was a calming influence,” said the doctor about Acton.
Ohio seemed to be on a different trajectory on May 1 when DeWine began to lift the state’s rules on home stay, and a month later the numbers continued to be flat.
“We are not seeing a significant surge or reestablishment of a wave or peak in Ohio and that’s great,” said Mark Cameron, an infectious disease researcher and professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in a statement in Cincinnati Enquirer. story published June 16. “What that could mean is that people still follow the guidelines.”
That is clearly not the case anymore, Blatt said.
“Most of the new cases are young and I think they got tired of not going out and seeing their friends,” Blatt said. “I think they saw things getting better and just said, ‘OK, let’s go out.’ We have to get the message across that this is not over and it will not be over for a while. “
Lately, the drive for people to wear masks has been fueled by Republicans who had previously been following the example of the president, who has rarely worn one in public.
Trump, in an interview on Wednesday, said it is “all for masks,” but he doesn’t think they should be mandatory for people in public places.
Florida Senator Rick Scott, a Republican and a Trump ally, used similar language Thursday in a Fox News interview.
“Look, you should wear a mask, you should distance socially,” said Scott. “But should governments order these things? Not.”
Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has been criticized for responding too slowly to the crisis and for reopening too soon, reported 6,563 new coronavirus cases Tuesday and 145 deaths, according to the NBC News count.
76,278 new cases have been reported in Florida in the past two weeks alone, forcing DeSantis to close the bars to slow the spread of the virus.
