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Gov. Mike DeWine Says Ohio's Rising COVID-19 Numbers Are "A Gut Punch"

Gov. Mike DeWine
Jo Ingles
/
Statehouse News Bureau
During his coronavirus update Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine urges Ohioans to comply with mask wearing and other mitigation measures in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

Gov. Mike DeWine says he’s concerned because the spread of COVID-19 continues to worsen in Ohio. 

DeWine said when you take the 18 counties in the red, which means very high exposure and spread, and you combine them with high incidence counties, it’s a significant part of the state on Ohio’s coronavirus map.

coronavirus map
Ohio Department of Health
Ohio coronavirus map

This map showed some rural counties in the red that hadn't been in there before. Red is the color that triggers many school districts to opt for online or remote learning options. DeWine said "it’s a gut punch." 

“This has got to stop. These lives are valuable. These lives matter. We can do better than this," DeWine said.

DeWine is urging people to stop getting together without masks. And he said the spread of COVID-19 is the biggest threat to forcing the closure of schools. But he refused to condemn President Trump’s remarks downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19 and likening it to the flu. 
Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles
Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.