Ohio Governor Eases Restrictions on Elective Surgery Ban

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine during his daily news briefing Wednesday, announced an easing up on the prohibition of elective surgeries during the coronavirus pandemic.

DeWine said that doctors can now review postponed procedures and surgeries with patients in terms of their current health situation and quality of life, after which doctors and patients can make a joint decision about whether to proceed. New or other chronic conditions that may have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life should also be evaluated.

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DeWine Calls for Phased-In Reopening Starting May 1 With Restrictions on Workforces

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton on Friday discussed how the state will develop its plan to reopen the economy.

DeWine said, “Ohioans have done a great job, a phenomenal job, fighting back, staying home, ensuring physical distancing. We’ve been doing all the things that needed to be done. I’ve never been prouder to be an Ohioan and I’m very grateful for what you have done. You have flattened the curve.”

Beginning May 1, the state will begin a phased-in reopening of the state economy. The plan will be fact-driven over a long period of time to minimize the health risk to business owners, employees, and customers.

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State Rep Nino Vitale Calls On Gov DeWine, Dr. Amy Acton to Ease Restrictions on Elective Surgery in Ohio

State Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) issued a call to action in the form of an open letter Friday to ease restrictions and reopen hospitals and medical centers to elective surgeries in Ohio.

“My request is we allow the doctors and nurses in these fields to immediately open back up and treat Ohioans that need medical care, which is getting more and more critical by the day because of these restrictions,” Vitale wrote.

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Ohio Near Bottom in Coronavirus Tests Per Capita Among All 50 States

Gov. DeWine Coronavirus Testina

Ohio is 44th out of 50 states in terms of the number of tests performed per capita for the Chinese coronavirus, data show.

Worldometers tracks COVID-19 test results and related data. The information, which was updated Sunday afternoon, is available here.

Looking at tests performed by 1 million, or per capita, is a method to adjust for population differences.

Based on that strategy, Ohio is 44th out of 50 states and Washington, D.C., with 5,432 tests done for every person out of 1 million people.

The national figure is 8,371 tests per million.

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New IHME Model Decreases Its Ohio Coronavirus Projections

  The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model has lowered its coronavirus projections for Ohio. Last week, the IHME model projected the coronavirus peak for hospital resources in Ohio would be April 20, and also showed that Ohio would need 5,609 beds, including 854 beds for the intensive care unit (ICU). In addition, this old model projected Ohio would experience 1,672 fatalities by August 4. Fast forward one week, and the picture IHME is painting for Ohio is far more optimistic. The IHME projection on April 8 shows that Ohio reached its coronavirus peak for hospital resources yesterday, which is a decrease of 12 days. The number of projected beds needed for the state’s peak decreased by 4,404 beds to 1,205. Furthermore, the ICU beds needed for Ohio’s coronavirus peak fell by 617 beds to 237. Projected Fatalities occurring by August 4 also went down by 1,183 to 489. The old IHME model projected the highest death toll day in Ohio was April 23 with 57. However, the updated model displays April 12 being the day Ohio experiences the most deaths with 26. By May 1, the updated model shows Ohio having between 0 and…

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Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 Forecast Was Off by 850 Cases Monday, Actual Cases Just One-Third of ‘Mitigated’ Projections

Ohio health officials and Gov. Mike DeWine continue to reference a coronavirus model that hasn’t been updated since March 28.

The Ohio Star still hasn’t been provided with any information on the identities of the Ohio State University researchers behind the controversial model.

The Ohio Department of Health (OHD) claims on its website for the forecast model that it was “created based on current data” and becomes “more precise as more information is available.”

However, the model still predicts that the coronavirus pandemic will reach its peak in Ohio on April 25 when the state is projected to have 9,689 new cases. But that number is based on the information that was available as of March 28 and hasn’t been updated since.

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Study Says Ohio Will Hit COVID-19 Peak Wednesday, with Cases and Deaths Far Below DeWine’s Apocalyptic Forecasts That Shut State Down

A health institute that has been making national and state COVID-19 forecasts revised its model for Ohio, suggesting that the peak will be hit Wednesday, leaving far fewer cases and deaths than the gruesome numbers painted by Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration.

The Sandusky Register reported on the model update Monday.

The forecaster is the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHMC), and it is a model that has been cited by many state and federal officials, including President Donald Trump.

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Model Cited by White House Officials Projects Ohio Hospitals Have Enough Capacity to Handle State’s Upcoming Coronavirus Peak

  A new epidemiological model cited by White House officials shows that Ohio hospitals have sufficient regular hospital bed and ICU hospital bed capacity for when the peak of the coronavirus hits the state in the upcoming weeks. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model, Ohio is projected to see its resources peak on April 20. The model shows that the Buckeye State will need 5,609 beds; however, the state presently has 14,290 beds available, according to the study. Furthermore, Ohio is expected to need 854 intensive care unit (ICU) beds by April 20, the date the model projects the pandemic will peak in Ohio, but it already has 12,238 ICU beds ready to go. In terms of deaths, the IHME model predicts Ohio will have 1,672 by August 4. As of Tuesday, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) numbers show 55 people have died from the coronavirus. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force adviser, said recently IHME model, which is funded by the University of Washington and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, shows projections very much in line with how the federal government viewed the situation. Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci recently…

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22 Percent of New York State Residents Tested for Coronavirus are Positive, Ohio Refuses to Release Negative Test Data So No One Knows Rate in State

How many people have tested negative for the coronavirus in Ohio? That’s on a need to know basis, and Gov. Mike DeWine has decided you don’t need to know.

Meanwhile, in New York State, 22 percent of people who took the test were positive, according to The COVID Tracking Project, so residents there at least know what they’re facing.

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Ohio Hides Number of Coronavirus Tests It Is Conducting

Ohio leaders are so busy sending restaurant workers to the unemployment line over fears of the coronavirus they apparently do not have time to actually test for the presence of the virus among their citizens, nor do they want you to know how many they have tested.

As Monday afternoon, Ohio had 50 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Out of 551 tests that have been taken, 140 were negative and 361 results are pending.

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Ohio Prioritizes Coronavirus Testing for Hospitalized Patients

Ohio has a new protocol to check for the coronavirus now that in-state testing is available for high-priority cases for hospitalized patients.

“As the COVID-19 situation evolves, the Ohio Department of Health, working in conjunction with hospitals, primary care providers, and other health care experts, has a plan to maximize our testing resources,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Saturday in a press release. “We are prioritizing the patients who are the most vulnerable to be tested in the Department of Health’s State Laboratory, while ensuring those that need COVID-19 testing will be able to be tested.”

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