Coronavirus in Ohio: Nursing homes, long-term care account for 74 percent of all recent cases

COLUMBUS — Ohio's coronavirus curve refuses to fall due to infections in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which accounted for nearly three-fourths of new cases in the past week. Nursing homes and long-term care centers recorded 2,217 or 74 percent of the 2,992 virus cases reported statewide in the week ending Wednesday, according to a Dispatch analysis of state virus data. Backing out cases from nursing homes (317 a day) and state prisons (14 a day), virus infections in Ohio among the general public amounted to 677 — an average of 97 a day or 23 percent of all cases. Some nursing home and long-term care center operators attribute the increase in cases to increased testing of patients, residents an staff rather than sudden spikes in the spread of the disease. The recent nursing home cases have played a large role in Ohio's inability to achieve the federal phase-one reopening guideline calling for a downward trajectory in the number of coronavirus cases over two weeks. Meanwhile, the state reported 724 more confirmed and probable coronavirus cases and 38 additional COVID-19 deaths on Thursday. The overall totals since the arrival of the virus in Ohio: 18,027 cases and 975 deaths, with more than 90 percent of fatalities among those age 60 and older. Nursing home and long-term care deaths during the past two weeks alone (276) represent 28 percent of all deaths since March 9. The 724 new daily cases on Thursday continued an upward trend, easily exceedng Wednesday's total of 534. DeWine laid out Ohio's phased-in reopening Monday, saying an expected rebound in coronairus cases must be accepted to get some Ohioans back to work after more than seven weeks under a stay-at-home order. Increased testing and contact tracing will accompany the restart. Business closures have cratered the economy, with 92,920 more Ohioans filing unemployment claims last week to bring the pandemic total to nearly 1.1 million in six weeks — an unprecedented 18 percent of the workforce. Only 45 percent of those claims have been paid from the state's slammed — and financially imperiled — claims system, with money in the quickly draining fund projected to run out in June. Pushback on DeWine's flip-flop on making face masks or coverings mandatory for all as the state gradually reopens its economy is surfacing. Neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania require masks at all times. DeWine on Monday said masks would be required for shoppers to stores and visitors to businesses. Then, the next day, he killed the requirement, saying Ohioans found the mandate "offensive." He instead strongly encouraged Ohioans to voluntarily wear face coverings. The governor, who talks regularly with big-city mayors, was criticized on Thursday for his reversal by Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who was joined by many Ohioans on social media in denouncing DeWine's about-face "I have been very impressed and supportive of Gov. DeWine's leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. I do, though, want to express my disappointment with the rolling back of the requirement for people to wear face masks in stores," Whaley said in a statement. "This decision prioritizes the comfort of a few people over the health and safety of the rest of us — especially front-line workers ... we must keep looking out for one another, even if that makes some of us uncomfortable by having to wear masks," she said. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he asked DeWine to mandate masks for all, but said the governor refused. His office declined to offer additional comment Thursday. The presidents of three Ohio local unions of the United Food and Commercial Workers called Thursday on DeWine to reconsider and require masks for store customers. "Workers in grocery stores and pharmacies have been on the front lines of this crisis since it began, putting their own lives at risk to make sure Ohio communities have the food and medicine they need. It is wrong to increase their exposure when simply requiring masks could greatly reduce it," the union statement said. Face masks generally do not protect the wearer from the virus, but help prevent its spread by those infected, but displaying no symptoms or in the early stages of the disease, health officials say. Face coverings are mandatory for all workers in offices and distribution centers, which can reopen Monday, and among employees of retail stores and service businesses authorized to reopen on May 12. Outpatient elective surgeries and procedures and the opening of dental offices and veterinarian clinics is permitted beginning today. If employers cannot comply with state face-covering, sanitization, employee health check and six-foot social distancing mandates, they are not allowed to open. State Health Director Dr. Amy Acton still had not issued her public health order controlling the reopening as of mid-day Thursday. Dine-in service at restaurants, bars, sporting events, movie theaters, concerts and other performances remain indefinitely closed with an ongoing ban of mass gatherings involving more than 10 people. Social distancing and other precautions such as the wearing of face coverings are credited by state officials with helping to check the spread of COVID-19 in Ohio and undercutting a feared spike that could overwhelm the medical system. ——— ©2020 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.