700 new cases reported in Ohio

COLUMBUS — COVID-19 cases in Ohio jumped Thursday after days of declining numbers of new infections. Gov. Mike DeWine announced there were 700 new COVID-19 infections bringing the total number of cases to 43,122. "It's a fairly big jump," DeWine said during his press conference on the pandemic. "What we have been seeing is a statewide downward trend. Today just might be an exception." Locally, there are 214 cases in Erie County, 95 cases in Huron County, 118 in Ottawa County and 106 cases in Sandusky County. According to John Hopkins University of Medicine, there are more than 2.1 million cases in the country with more than 118,000 deaths and almost 600,000 people recovered, leaving about 1.4 million actively infected. Ohio has seen a smaller upward tick in COVID-19 cases than other states as it reopens. But DeWine called the continued upward trend in five counties — Montgomery, Green, Clark, Warren and Hamilton — in Southwest Ohio "worrisome." "None of this should come as a shock. We are going to see hot spots and increase in cases in different areas at different times," DeWine said. "Seeing it increase in Southwest Ohio is something we need to respond to. The action we take there will be what we do when this occurs in other counties." DeWine said the National Guard will have a heavier presence to help increase testing in the area and they would be coordinating with local hospitals to figure out causes. "To respond aggressively, we have to test more," DeWine said. "We can now test anybody who wants a test." Dr. Amy Edwards from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital spoke about an increase in the number of children testing positive for COVID-19. "The vast majority of children are asymptomatic and are nowhere near as affected as older age groups," Edwards said. But they've seen an increase in the percentage of tests coming back positive for children and a small uptick in hospital admissions for children. She recommends parents consult a pediatrician if their child becomes ill and loses their appetite. She also wants people to watch out for multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which can present with vomiting, diarrhea and a rash.