CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio will comply with a Trump Administration request to stop releasing daily unemployment claim statistics amid the coronavirus crisis, despite prior releases of such data, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said Monday.

Unemployment claims skyrocketed last week after Gov. Mike DeWine ordered the closing of bars, restaurant dining areas and other non-essential businesses to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released data that showed the state received 139,468 unemployment benefits applications from March 15 through March 19, a massive increase over the 4,815 received over the same five-day period the previous week.

Husted said during a Monday’s daily briefing at the Ohio Statehouse that the state would no longer provide updates on on unemployment claims, citing guidance from the Trump Administration. An ODJFS spokesman later clarified that the state will release its weekly unemployment claims update on Thursday, when nationwide data is released.

“We’ve been asked by the U.S. Department of Labor not to release our numbers on unemployment, so we’re following that guidance,” Husted said.

The Trump Administration has asked states to delay the release of unemployment claims statistics to prevent further roiling an already shaky stock market, according to The New York Times. The Labor Department sent an email asking states to provide only general comments, such as a very high or substantial increase, until federal data is released next week, according to the report.

State public records law exempts the ODJFS from releasing certain data that would identify someone who has applied for or is receiving unemployment benefits. However, the the ODJFS website includes weekly unemployment claims statistics dating back to 1998, and ODJFS provided day-by-day updates on unemployment claims several times last week.

The state still plans to post weekly unemployment claims data on the ODJFS website Thursday morning, ODJFS spokesman Bret Crow said Monday. He did not say why the state complied with the Trump Administration request to stop providing day-by-day updates, and instead directed questions to the Department of Labor.

A spokesman for Husted did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Unemployment claims have soared in Ohio since DeWine started issuing orders March 15 to close businesses across the state. The series of orders culminated Sunday in a stay-at-home order that requires Ohio residents to remain largely at home and closes all non-essential businesses.

The closings are intended to create social distancing and limit the chance of one person passing the virus to someone else. The goal is to reduce the number of people who have the virus at the same time and lessen the strain on Ohio’s hospitals.

Husted also said Monday that the spike in unemployment claims crashed the ODJFS website temporarily Monday. He apologized for the disruption and said techs are working to ensure the system can handle the increased demand.

“This system was not built for a crisis. It was built to take care of what we could expect on a regular or even robust basis,” Husted said. “But what we’re experiencing now is frankly unprecedented.”

Applications are also accepted by phone at 1-877-644-6562 or TTY 1-614-387-8408. The ODJFS has extended its phone hours to Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, and added Saturday hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The agency has also added more staff to help process phone applications, officials said.

Cleveland.com reporter Rich Exner contributed to this story.