Ohio Surpasses 1,000 Coronavirus Deaths

COLUMBUS, OH — Gov. Mike DeWine pleaded for public help as the Ohio economy begins to reopen. He urged Ohioans to follow health and safety protocols, even as certain restrictions on businesses are lifted.

"I know some of you think we're not moving fast enough. Some think we're going too fast. We're trying to get it right," DeWine said during his daily news conference on Friday.

He argued that there is a medical and social cost to allowing the economy to continue to contract. He said he does not expect businesses to come back quickly, but he wanted to set Ohio on the path to recovery.

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"It's easy to get upset. People have been in their homes a long time. They haven't been able to do the things they want to do. But we have to stick together," DeWine said.

Friday's Numbers

More than 1,000 Ohioans have died due to complications from the new coronavirus, the state health department announced Friday. The state said there were 27 deaths caused by the virus between Thursday and Friday afternoon.

There were 716 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in Ohio to 18,743. It's unclear how many Ohioans have recovered from the virus, Dr. Amy Acton, director of the state health department, has said previously.

There were 362 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Monday, 444 new cases on Tuesday, 534 new cases on Wednesday, 724 new cases on Thursday and now 716 on Friday. Ohio officials have said they were hoping to see a plateau, or even decline, in new cases of the virus around the state.

Deaths tend to lag several days, or weeks, behind upticks in COVID-19 cases. Officials have said the recent uptick in deaths in Ohio may be related to the previous surge in infections.

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