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Ohio Department of Health conducting tests for COVID-19 with testing equipment.
Ohio Department of Health conducting tests for COVID-19 with testing equipment. [ODH]

DeWine Warns Of Flare Up In COVID-19 Cases In Southwest Ohio

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says the state as a whole has seen a steady trend in decreasing cases of COVID-19, but he’s warning of possible trouble in southwest Ohio which is not following that trend.

Health officials are following what DeWine calls “worrisome” trend lines in the region with flare ups in COVID-19 cases in Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Warren, and Hamilton Counties.

DeWine says the state is trying to inform Ohioans about the flare up and is sending more resources to increase testing accessibility. He says another round of shutdowns or other health orders is a last resort.

“We don’t want to do that unless it is a last resort. We don’t want to do that, we went through that in the closing. We did things that we thought made sense and did them in a logical order. Now that we’ve opened most everything, that is a tougher tool to use,” says DeWine. “You know I don’t rule anything out, but persuading people and talking to people and giving people the facts seems to me the right thing to do to start with.”

DeWine says experts are examining the cases and trying to find out more information to what might be causing the uptick in cases.