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DeWine: Fully vaccinated nursing home staff no longer have to be tested for COVID

Springfield News-Sun - 5/3/2021

May 3—Nursing home staff that are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will now be exempt from twice weekly COVID testing.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced the upcoming new health order during his afternoon press briefing on the status of the virus in the state.

Staff members who are not vaccinated will continue to be tested twice a week, he said.

DeWine also commended vaccine outreach innovations from Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County and the Clark County Combined Health District to bring vaccines to underserved parts of the county.

"The Dayton & Montgomery County health department is using a public transit bus to go into targeted communities to give the vaccine. No appointments are necessary and they promote their destination on social media every day," he said. "The Clark County health department purchased a box truck for $1 in a federal auction to utilize as a mobile unit to take vaccines to neighborhoods."

The number of first doses of vaccines administered is down across the state compared to when the vaccine was first rolled out in the state.

After an increase in cases and hospitalizations in April, Ohio is showing signs of reversing the trend.

Fewer than 1,000 daily cases were reported Monday, according to Ohio Department of Health data.

"We are moving in the right direction in regards to cases," DeWine said.

The state's 21-day average also dropped to 1,693 cases a day, after lingering around 1,700 to 1,800 cases in recent weeks.

The number of COVID patients hospitalized in Ohio also has decreased for the last four days. As of Sunday, the state reported 1,095 hospitalized COVID patients, the lowest number recorded in the last two weeks.

The biggest increase in case in cases is 0-19, which went up by 15%, while the other age groups have seen new case numbers go down as people are vaccinated.

New is a program developed by the Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Department of Health to make sure those who are homebound have access to the COVID vaccine. It is at coronavirus.ohio.gov under the #COVID19 vaccination program tab.

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