Coronavirus Pandemic: What you need to know Friday

Gov. Mike DeWine released the final Minority Health Health Strike Force report in response to the pandemic and the state’s executive response to the report.

The Minority Health Strike Force was formed in April to examine the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on minority communities, as well as broader health disparities and racial injustices.

Currently, African Americans represent 14 percent of Ohio’s population but are 24 percent of positive COVID-19 cases, 32 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations, and 19 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Ohio. Similarly, at least 6 percent of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ohio are Latino, despite only representing 3.9 percent of Ohio’s population.

The COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint lists 34 recommendations on dismantling racism, removing public health obstacles, improving the social/economic and physical environments, and strengthening data collection to better track disparities.

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Things you need to know today, Friday:

• DeWine issued Ohio’s Executive Response: A Plan of Action to Advance Equity, in response to the Minority Health Strike Force’s final report.
• DeWine announced a commitment to create the Ohio Governor’s Equity Advisory Board -- a permanent, ongoing group to help guide us as we address the underlying conditions and root causes contributing to disparities in life and health in Ohio.
• Mercer and Champaign remain Nos. 1 and 2 in Ohio counties ranked by highest occurrence of COVID-19 with cases per 100,000 people. Darke County, which was third in the state Tuesday, has moved to No. 4.
• The Public Health Advisory system levels for the Miami Valley remain unchanged for all except Champaign County, which moves from Yellow Level 1 to Orange Level 2.
• DeWine announced a new pop-up testing site in Montgomery County, scheduled for Aug. 18 at Kettering Fields, 444 N. Bend Drive, Dayton. A pop-up site also was announced for Aug. 21 in Middletown. Additional details on the Middletown site were not immediately available.
• DeWine issued challenges to colleges and universities to come up with ways to recruit more African Americans and other minorities to become teachers. He also challenged the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services to do more with foster care, because the reality is that minority children are not adopted at the same rate as white children.
• An announcement on high school sports will be made Tuesday, DeWine said. The announcement will come with a restriction on the amount of fans, but alluded to family members being allowed to attend, he said, noting, “This will be a little disruptive for some people.”
• The ability to play sports and do extracurricular activities is directly dependent on what is happening with coronavirus in communities.

Some more things you should know today, Friday:

• The Horizon League (Wright State) cancels all fall season sports
• Area schools are continuing to slide back start dates because of the virus
• Ohio State football superfan ‘Buckeyeman’ is relieved about fall sports announcement
• These daughters convened a prayer vigil for their mom, on a ventilator since June

LATEST STATE DATA: As of Friday afternoon, there have been at least 106,557 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 3,784 deaths, and 12,128 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 84,904 people are presumed to have recovered from the virus in the state.

Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

There have been 1,773,797 people tested for the coronavirus in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

A total of 11,932 health care workers have tested positive which is about 11 percent of the cases.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

Cox Media Group