On January 26, Governor Mike DeWine announced a new curfew plan that is contingent on the hospital utilization statewide. The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has recommended that Ohio’s curfew be amended to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. when COVID-related hospital utilization drops below 3,500 for seven consecutive days. And on January 28, that mark was hit so Ohio’s curfew was amended and is now in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for at least two weeks.
If hospital utilization subsequently drops below 3,000 for seven consecutive days, Ohio’s curfew would be amended to 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. for at least two weeks. If hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for seven consecutive days, ODH would recommend lifting the curfew.
If, at any point, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations begins to rise, health officials could reinstitute the appropriate curfew measures.
“When our COVID hospitalizations are above 2,500, which is more than three times Ohio’s peak in a typical flu season, our hospitals strain in their ability to deliver other care, especially routine diagnostic and procedural care,” said Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, chief medical officer for ODH. “When cases are above 3,500, our hospitals are highly stressed as evidenced by local and regional diversions and the greater need for transfers.”