Coronavirus In Ohio: Nearly 1,300 New Cases, 28 Deaths

Another 28 Ohioans died from the coronavirus and nearly 1,300 new cases of the illness were reported on Thursday, according to the latest statistics from the Ohio Department of Health.

Over the past 24 hours, 1,290 new cases were confirmed bringing the 21-day average of new cases to 1,093. Cumulatively, that state has now confirmed 70,601 cases of the coronavirus and 3,103 patients have died from the disease.

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Thursday's daily numbers are slightly lower than the previous day, when 1,316 cases of the illness were confirmed.

At his daily news conference, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the number of Ohioans hospitalized with COVID-19 is going up, and while not a sharp increase, the number of people in the ICU is also increasing.

Over the past 24 hours, another 116 Ohioans were hospitalized for COVID-19 and 21 patients were admitted to the ICU.

Three Ohio counties — Hamilton, Butler and Cuyahoga — have been moved off the watchlist that would lead them to be classified as purple, which would indicate severe exposure and spread of the virus. The counties still remain red, which indicates very high exposure and spread. Residents living in counties that have a red status are required to wear masks inside any public businesses or spaces, offices, on public transportation or ride-sharing services and outside (if distancing is impossible). The order does not apply to children 10 and under.

DeWine stressed that masks do make a difference in curbing the spread of the illness.