DeWine sets target for lifting COVID health orders

Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday set the target for when he will lift all COVID-related health orders (Source: “DeWine: No more masks once COVID cases fall to 50 per 100K people,” Dayton Daily News, March 5).

“When Ohio gets down to 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, all health orders will be lifted,” he said.

He said that the state reported 731 cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 3. By Feb. 3, that had dropped to 445 cases. On Tuesday, it had fallen to 179 cases.

Now that 1.8 million Ohioans and counting have been vaccinated, DeWine said the end of the pandemic is in sight.

DeWine addressed the state on the status of the coronavirus in the evening instead of his regularly scheduled 2 p.m. briefing. He began his address by noting that March 4, 2020, was Ohio’s first full day in the fight against the coronavirus.