Coronavirus: Ohio daily cases remain under 1,000; Butler, Montgomery counties remain at level 3

There were 991 cases reported, bringing the total to 147,744. Deaths increased by 28 for a total of 4,715.

Ohio’s 21-day average of daily cases reported continued to drop and is now at 982.

There were 74 hospitalizations and 10 ICU admissions reported. Hospitalizations total at 15,051 and ICU admissions at 3,228.

Montgomery and Butler counties remained at level 3, according to Ohio’s county alert level map.

They were two of nine red counties in the state. Five new counties were at level 3 and one count dropped from level 3 to level 2 since last week.

Mercer County also remained at level 3. Shelby County was the only level 1 county in the Miami Valley. The rest of the region is at level 2.

Butler County was among the top 10 counties in the state for new cases reported in the last two weeks. Mercer, Miami, Darke and Shelby counties also made the top 10 in the state.

Mercer County had the most cases with 257.5 cases per 100,000 people. Shelby was third with 189.3, Miami seventh with 144.9, Darke eighth with 142.8 and Butler 10th with 131.3.

Ohio is entering its next phase of visitation at nursing homes and assisted living centers and released plans for resuming indoor visits starting Oct. 12.

Ohio Department of Aging Ursel McElroy acknowledged the strain that restrictions have placed on residents, families and staff at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

She stressed that just because indoor visitation is resuming does not mean that coronavirus is no longer a risk. Anyone who isn’t feeling well should stay home.

All visits must be scheduled in advanced and will be in a designated visitation area. Two visitors are permitted per resident per visit and visits will last for 30 minutes to allow more residents to have visitors, McElroy said.

Visitors are required to wear a mask. More details about guidelines will be released.

All residential colleges in Ohio are recommended to regularly test a random sample of asymptomatic students, according to new guidance announced by DeWine.

It will be up to universities to decided how many to test, but the state is suggesting at least 3%.

“Screening asymptomatic students really gives college presidents and their staff an idea of the spread on their campuses,” the governor said, noting that many universities are already following the guidance. More details will be released shortly.

Athletic teams in Ohio will be able to play in double-headers or multiple games in a calendar day, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.

A limit keeping athletic teams from only participating in one game or match in a calendar day will be lifted. However, a provision will be added to state guidelines requiring athletic facilities to cooperate with inspectors making sure that health orders are being followed.

If rules are not being followed, inspectors will be able to terminate a game.

A travel advisory updated Wednesday warns Ohio from visiting South Dakota, Idaho, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas.

All five states have coronavirus positivity percentages of 15% or higher.

Those traveling to Ohio from those five states should self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

On Tuesday, DeWine unveiled a demographics dashboard showing how the virus effects Ohioans of different races and ethnicities.

The dashboard breaks down data by population, case, hospitalization and death percentages by race and ethnicity.

Users can search the dashboard for the entire state, individual counties or select multiple counties.