DeWine: Increased testing doesn’t completely explain rise in COVID-19 cases

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)– Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says the state’s steady increase in COVID-19 cases is concerning because it is not only due to increased testing, but it is a sign of broader community spread.

DeWine says the positivity rate of those being tested should be dropping because tests are no longer reserved for the sickest people in the state, anyone can get one now. But it is not dropping.

“Instead, the creeping up of our positivity rate even as we are doing more testing means that we are likely picking up signs of broader community spread,” he said.

The positivity rate is low, between 4-6%, but it is not dropping as expected with increased testing, and in many counties it is rising quickly.

DeWine says in Hamilton County (Cincinnati) at the end of May and into early June, they were holding steady at an average of 30 cases per day per 100,000 people. Last week, the average new cases per day increased to approximately 100 cases per 100,000.

DeWine says they are seeing an increase like this in Montgomery County (Dayton) as well as surrounding southwest Ohio counties.

With this increase, DeWine said people southwest Ohio need to to “redouble their efforts to social distance, wear a mask in public, and wash hands,” so the hospital system does not become overwhelmed.

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