Gov. Mike DeWine has said he’ll lift the statewide mask mandate when Ohio gets down to 50 cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. But that rate has been trending upward in recent days, putting the state further away from that goal.
Two weeks ago, Ohio had 146 cases per 100,000 people. Last week that climbed to 183 cases per 100,000, well more than three times DeWine’s target number. But he’s hoping for a decrease soon as more residents are vaccinated.
“The vaccine is our ticket for the spring. The vaccine is our ticket for the summer. The vaccine is our ticket out of this pandemic. That’s how we get our freedom back," DeWine said.
DeWine made his comments after touring a shot clinic in Steubenville. Ohio is now doing more mass clinics, vaccinating people 16 years old and older at colleges, businesses, churches and other settings.
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