Acton says Ohio could peak at thousands of cases a day

SANDUSKY — Current models predict Ohio may hit a peak of 6,000 to 8,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by about May 1, state health department director Dr. Amy Acton said Thursday. Acton, who speaks at the daily press conference in Columbus by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other state leaders, said the projection illustrates why Ohioans are urgently asked to stay at home and avoid contact with other people unless it's absolutely necessary. State leaders want to avoid overwhelming hospitals and the state health care system, Acton said. "What we do now is going to determine whether we overrun these hospitals," DeWine said. "I worry about this every day. Stay home." The governor also relayed a "stay home" message from a doctor, noting that now is a scary time for healthcare workers. Firelands Regional Medical Center announced Thursday it plans to set up tents on its main campus to triage patients being served in the emergency room. "The public should not be alarmed when they see tents around main campus, as this is a precautionary measure," the hospital said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "Know that our associates are working around-the-clock to prepare for COVID-19 as it enters our community." On Thursday, Ohio had 867 confirmed cases, with 15 deaths, 223 hospitalizations and 91 ICU admissions. The numbers are far below the actual situation because of a lack of tests. Nationally, the U.S. had 75,178 cases Thursday with more than 1,000 deaths and with about 37,000 cases identified in one state, New York. Worldwide, 521,086 cases were reported, with 23,567 deaths, including 8,215 in Italy. Ohio continued to expand information at its coronavirus.ohio.gov website, including adding a new dashboard to track cases, with detailed information for each county. For example, the state dashboard showed three COVID-19 cases in Erie County Thursday, with three hospitalizations because of the disease. A chart depicted the sharp rise in state cases from early March. The state also launched an effort to recruit Ohioans to volunteer their help, "Together Ohio." Potential volunteers can send an email to together@governor.ohio.gov with their name, contact information and how they want to help. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted acknowledged Thursday that some Ohioans are still struggling to file their unemployment claims online at unemployment.ohio.gov or to get help on the phone. "If you do not get through, they will make that retroactive to the time you qualified for it," Husted said. The website unemployment.ohio.gov is available 24 hours a day, so try it during off-peak hours, Husted said. Absentee ballots cast in the delayed primary election will still be counted, but voters who had planned to show up on Election Day are now being urged to apply for absentee ballots so they can vote by April 28, the new deadline. Absentee ballot request forms may be downloaded from voteohio.gov or can be obtained by calling your local election board. Voters who fill out the form will be supplied with a ballot and a postage-paid envelope. The governor, a baseball fan, noted Thursday would have been opening day for Major League Baseball. He showed and also tweeted a brief video showing Slider, the Indians mascot, tossing a baseball to the Reds mascot. Baldwin Wallace University released a poll showing that many Ohioans support how DeWine has handled the COVID-19 situation. The poll showed 47.6 percent of Ohioans "strongly approve" of DeWine's measures while 32.3 "somewhat approve" of the governor, with about 15 percent disapproving and about 5 percent not sure. Governors in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin received lower marks in the school's Great Lakes Poll. "Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's apolitical, no-nonsense response to the crisis has set the national agenda in terms of how public officials should respond," said Lauren Copeland, associate director of the school's Community Research Institute. The poll also suggested if the election were held now, Donald Trump would carry Ohio again. It showed 44.6 percent of Ohioans supporting Trump, with 43.1 percent supporting the Democratic candidate and about 12 percent unsure.