Cooper cited limits on public health agencies regarding masks because of SB 22.
Also, Dayton-area hospital leaders today said COVID-19 hospitalizations are approaching the peak reached last December and said the spike is straining the health care system.
“These significant increases are not sustainable for the capacity in our hospitals, nor for the staff, our caregivers and those frontline staff, we depend on,” said Sarah Hackenbracht, president and CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association.
“Our hospitals and our caregivers need relief and need your help,” Hackenbracht said.
She said 332 hospitalizations Wednesday locally represents a 58% increase in the last 21 days.
“And we have 73 patients who are critically ill in our intensive care units across the region,” Hackenbracht said. “That’s a 24 percent increase over the last 21 days for a very limited number of beds that we have.”
She also noted hospitals are not seeing the same patients they were treating earlier in the pandemic.
“These individuals are much younger,” Hackenbracht said.
Other speakers today talked about the need for masking, and vaccinations, and the number of cases involving children.
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