Ohio’s Top Health Official Says “We Believe 100,000 People” Already Infected With Covid-19 In State

Ohio’s top public-health official said during a press conference on Thursday where the state’s governor announced a three-week closure of all schools in the state that her office estimates that as many as 117,000 people in the state have already been infected with the novel coronavirus.

During the press conference, a clip from which we’ve included below, Department of Health Director Amy Acton said that the virus has likely been spreading in the “community” of Ohio, and that, given the number of weeks it has likely been present, at least 1% of the state’s population likely already have the virus.

“We know now based on the basic facts of community spread we know now that at the very least 1% of our population is carrying this virus…We have 11.7 million people, so that just  gives you a sense of how this virus spreads, and how it’s spreading quickly,” Acton said.

She went on to explain that the “logorithmic” rate of infection means that for every person who catches the virus will likely spread it to two or three other people.

“The choices I make for me and my family may not infect us, but we could infect your grandmother,” she said.

Gov. Mike Dewine and Dr. Acton explained that they knew they were going to close the schools at some point, but by consulting with experts, they figured that now is “the sweet spot…to act”.

How did @GovMikeDeWine decide when to close schools? When he and @OHdeptofhealth Dr. Amy Acton thought the crisis hit the “sweet spot.” @DispatchAlerts pic.twitter.com/OR95HqUWMQ

— Doral Chenoweth (@doralchenoweth) March 12, 2020

To put all this in context: as of Thursday evening, Ohio had five confirmed cases.

A little shaken up by Dr. Acton’s comment? Now that the doctor herself will likely go viral due to the nature of her comments in this clip, it’s only fitting for her to explain steps to keep your family coronavirus-free.

Curious about the steps you can take to prepare for any illness, including #COVID19? Watch this video with our director, Dr. Amy Acton. https://t.co/KGMeEp0OiE

— Ohio Dept of Health (@OHdeptofhealth) March 3, 2020