06/16/2020

COVID-19 Update: Basic Reproduction Number, Pop-up Sites and More

June 16, 2020

Today, Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there are 42,010 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 2,597 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 7,007 people have been hospitalized, including 1,784 admissions to intensive care units.

More than 65,000 children a day are expected to take part in Ohio's Summer Food Service Program this summer. With more than 1,500 sites across the state, many of the programs have set up new guidelines for distributing food to kids. Additional information can be found by selecting this link or by calling 866-3-HUNGRY. 

DeWine also released the latest basic reproduction number or R0 (pronounced “R naught”) for eight regions of Ohio. The R0 represents the number of people, on average, to which a person will spread a disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that COVID-19's R0, without interventions, to be 2.5. With Ohio's interventions, the R0 for the state measured at 0.87 on June 7. Ohio is beginning to see the R0 plateau in Region 7 and 8.  

Additionally, the governor announced additional pop-up testing sites will be available throughout the state this week. Testing began this morning at CityLink Center in Cincinnati and will also be available on Thursday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Testing will resume at the CityLink Center next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tomorrow testing will be available at the Centerpoint Health Community Building Institute in Middletown, Ohio, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Additional temporary pop-up testing locations will be in Elyria, Portsmouth, Xenia and other locations. More information on pop-up sites can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov.

DeWine announced that Ohio will borrow money to meet its unemployment obligation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state requested $3.1 billion in borrowing authority from the U.S. Department of Labor. This is not an unprecedented situation, Ohio borrowed more than $3.3 billion during the last recession and joins states such as California and Texas in borrowing money during this crisis. 

The governor reminded houses of worship to continue utilizing the best practices when resuming in-person services. While these are not requirements, they are best practices that include having families sit socially-distant from other families; encouraging members to wear face coverings; and eliminating the touching of common surfaces, such as the collection basket and hymnals, as much as possible. This guidance can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov.

DeWine announced $1 million in grant funding to Ohio’s local Family and Children First Councils (FCFC). Local FCFC’s serve some for Ohio’s must vulnerable children and often need services from many different agencies. These grant dollars will help local FCFC’s ensure that children can continue to connect with their loved ones and access essential medical services.

Husted announced that the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and InnovateOhio have identified $950,027 in savings to state taxpayers through data analytics applied to state agency spending ledgers. These are actual taxpayer dollars recovered, not just potential savings identified. The total dollar amount of duplicate payments identified totals $1,008,876, leaving $58,849 still in the process of being recovered. The total number of confirmed duplicate payments identified by InnovateOhio from January 2019 to May 2020 is 107 across 27 different agencies, boards, and commissions.

Husted also reminded Ohioans to be on alert for individuals that may want to take advantage of them with potential fraudulent cures, work-from-home offers, and messages asking for personal information. He also warned Ohioans of fraudulent unemployment claims. For resources on how to protect your personal information and protect yourself from fraud, visit the Ohio Department of Commerce or the Ohio Department of Insurance websites. If you think you have been a victim of fraud contact the Ohio Attorney General office.