Gov. Mike DeWine announced Franklin County is the first county in Ohio to reach a “purple” risk level for COVID-19 spread Thursday. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio Channel
Franklin County is the first county in Ohio to reach a “purple” risk level for COVID-19 spread — the most severe category of the four-tier ranking system, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday.
Ohio reported 7,787 cases over the past 24 hours, but the case count is incomplete. DeWine said Ohio has yet to double-check and include about 12,000 tests since the start of this week into the data. He said the addition of those tests over the last few days would increase the daily reported cases, especially for Wednesday and Thursday.
“The number we’re reporting, which is already a very very high number, 7,787, is appreciably higher than that,” DeWine said.
Franklin County reported 675 new cases Wednesday, according to Columbus Public Health. With more than 5,887 cases per 100,000 residents, the 43210 and 43201 zip codes — which cover Ohio State’s campus and immediate off-campus area — respectively, have the highest COVID-19 rates in the county.
No other zip codes in Franklin County have COVID-19 rates of more than 5,887 per 100,000 residents.
On Tuesday, DeWine issued a statewide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Thursday which will last for three weeks. The curfew does not apply to those traveling to and from work, experiencing an emergency, seeking medical care or getting groceries.
Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts announced in a tweet Wednesday a stay-at-home advisory for Columbus and Franklin County starting Friday at 6 p.m.
DeWine did not say whether Franklin County’s status change will lead to further restrictions.
