Two years ago today, the coronavirus officially arrived in Ohio.
While current hospitalizations are finally down to levels where they were last summer before the Delta variant hit, there have been more than two million confirmed cases of COVID in those two years, with some Ohioans infected more than once.
"This afternoon we learned that three Ohioans have tested positive for COVID-19," said Gov. Mike DeWine on March 9, 2020.
For about a week he’d been doing daily press conferences that some called “Wine with DeWine”. But those events got serious quickly.
"From what we see around the world and the United States, this disease will for a period, will for a period, significantly disrupt our lives," said DeWine.
In the next two weeks, K-12 schools were closed, public events with more than 100 people were banned, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals were shut down to visitors. Sports stopped, bars and restaurants were closed, and the polls shuttered for the March primary as mail in voting was extended, and the first COVID death in Ohio was recorded on March 20.
Mark Wagoner Sr. a well-known person in state and local government and former chair of the Lucas County Republican Party passed away from COVID-19
— Andy Chow (@andy_chow) March 20, 2020
Since then, there have been 37,146 COVID deaths in Ohio. That includes 16,201 people in Ohio who have died of COVID since Labor Day 2021.
That total of COVID deaths in Ohio is about the same as the population of Hilliard. Or it’s the total of the populations of Maple Heights and Marietta. Or Oxford plus Lyndhurst. Or all the residents of Medina and Coshocton added together.
That’s also more than the capacity of Progressive Field, or of Ohio State’s Value City Arena and Nationwide Arena in Columbus put together.
Here's a timeline of COVID-19 in Ohio, from the first suspected cases to the start of vaccines in late 2021.
Copyright 2022 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.
