In a statewide address to Ohioans in the evening of March 4, Governor Mike DeWine urged Ohioans to remain committed to following COVID-19 safety practices as Ohio cases trend downward, and detailed the measurement needed to lift all Ohio Department of Health (ODH) orders.
Gov. DeWine announced that when Ohio reaches 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, all health orders will be lifted. Cases per 100,000 people for a two-week period is a measurement that Gov. DeWine and ODH have utilized since early in the pandemic.
Gov. DeWine also detailed the success that Ohio has seen recently in the COVID-19 pandemic. The state reported 731 cases per 100,000 people on December 3, 2020. By February 3, that had dropped to 445 cases. On March 2, it had fallen to 179 cases. Ohio’s stay-at-home order and curfew have been lifted, and restaurants, bars, and gyms are open.
Now that 1.8 million Ohioans and counting have been vaccinated, Gov. DeWine said the end of the pandemic is in sight. In February, Ohio vaccinated over 200,000 educators for students to return to in-person learning. As of March 4, nearly 95% of Ohio’s K-12 students have returned to school for in-person learning.