The initial stay-at-home order bought Ohio time to medically prepare for the onslaught of predicted COVID-19 cases, Gov. Mike DeWine said. "It’s clear we’re not going to be able to go back to normal. ... We have to stay at home."

Acknowledging the public’s frustrations and economic fears, Gov. Mike DeWine laments the extension of Ohio’s stay-at-home order until May 1, while warning that even that date may be optimistic.

But the science and experts warn the price to be paid for liberating Ohioans too soon could dramatically increase the number of dead from the coronavirus — which rose by 25%, to 81, on Thursday — as well as the numbers who fall ill, DeWine said.

Ohioans are confronted with an additional four weeks in isolation under the new order issued by state Health Director Dr. Amy Acton on Thursday, four days before the initial order was to expire late Monday.

“I’m frustrated, too. No one in Ohio is not frustrated,” DeWine said of the havoc the virus and stay-at-home order have inserted into everyday life. “This is not how we want to live. Our goal is that we make it ... I’m sorry. I wish it wasn’t like this.”

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The initial stay-at-home order bought Ohio time to medically prepare for the onslaught of predicted virus cases, DeWine said. “It’s clear we’re not going to be able to go back to normal. ... We have to stay at home.”

The leader in the study of infectious diseases at Ohio State University believes social distancing is having a positive impact but still predicts there could be up to 4,200 deaths during a surge expected to start later this month across the state.

The surge is expected to hit in the second or third week of April, said Michael Oglesbee, director of Ohio State University's Infectious Diseases Institute. Oglesbee is working with the Ohio Department of Health.

With that surge, there could be up to 210,000 Ohioans infected (not all seriously ill), but modeling shows that number could be getting lower thanks to social-distancing efforts. The death rate of the surge is expected to be up to 2%.

Even keeping Ohioans at home until May 1 might not be enough.

“We’re pretty sure we are not going to be out of it by then,” DeWine said. Acton said virus cases are forecast to continue into June once the peak subsides later this month.

“You are making financial sacrifices, you are making personal sacrifices, our lives have changed. ... What you have done has saved lives,” DeWine told Ohioans.

The two-week stay-at-home order issued March 23, which now continues, restricts many Ohioans to only vital travel for food and medical care and closes workplaces deemed nonessential.

DeWine said the extended order requires stores, including groceries, to post a limit of people to be admitted at any one time to ensure at least six-foot social distancing.

While no limits remain on attendance at weddings and funerals, receptions are limited to no more than 10 people.

Campgrounds also are being ordered closed under the new order, but those who live in a recreational vehicle at a campground can remain. State parks are not being closed, but social distancing must be practiced.

The order also requires public swimming pools and pools at private clubs or housing complexes to be closed. It does not apply to private residential pools. Day camps for children were ordered closed, and organized youth and adult sports were prohibited.

The governor also asked people traveling into Ohio, including part-time residents such as “snowbirds,” to remain in self-quarantine for 14 days. Exceptions are made for those who cross state lines to work. Visitors are instructed not to travel to Ohio if displaying symptoms, unless it’s for medical care.

“We did not make these decisions, I would not make these decisions, if it wasn’t a matter of life or death,” DeWine said. “We are doing well, but we have to keep this monster down. He is not dead. He is very much alive.”

Based on Ohio State’s model, which relies on a contact network model of how much people are likely to travel or interact with one another in regions throughout the state, there could be up to 4,200 deaths during the surge when the number of cases ramps up.

Health officials are expecting that out of the number of infected cases, that there will be a 20% hospitalization rate and a third of those cases will require admission into an intensive care unit.

With partnerships among Battelle, the Cleveland Clinic and the Wexner Medical Center to accelerate testing, "We're going to have more numbers coming in test positive, test negative,“ Oglesbee said.

Testing turnaround is coming down already -- for example, health care workers get results turned around within a day, he said, noting it was taking an average of around 11 days to get results back when the pandemic was in its earlier stages.

"Right now the challenge we're facing is: you need that surveillance data. You need to know how many people out there test positive. ... Earlier this week we had 27,000 individuals (who) have been tested. There's a backlog of results that we're still waiting on," Oglesbee said, noting an initial reliance on out-of-state private laboratories.

The Ohio Department of Health reported a daily increase of 355 cases of coronavirus and another 16 deaths – an increase of 25% — from the virus Thursday.

The number of infections has steadily climbed since March 9 and now stands at 2,902 total cases, with 81 deaths, from the pandemic.

Franklin County, the second-most afflicted county in Ohio, reported 50 more daily cases of COVID-19 (for an overall total of 441) as its death toll increased by one, to six.

The number of cases in counties surrounding Franklin County rose by 16 to 134: Delaware (50); Licking (30); Fairfield (28); Pickaway (12); Madison (11); and Union (four). Two Madison County residents and one Delaware County resident have died.

DeWine said those numbers will only grow and asked frustrated Ohioans to stay the now-lengthy course with social distancing.

The first stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of the infection forced millions to work from home while the closure of other workplaces left nearly 500,000 Ohioans — about 8% of the state workforce — without jobs.

The virus fallout has devastated the economy, leading to record unemployment claims in Ohio and the U.S.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said work continues urgently to upgrade the state’s slammed and often-inaccessible online and phone filing systems to get the jobless their benefits. Expanded hours will be offered to take phone claims.

The timing of the extension of the stay-at-home order matches the closure of K-12 schools until at least May 1 and directives to nearly 18,000 state office workers to work from home until the same date.

A parade of public-health orders to help halt the spread of the disease is coupled with urgent efforts to at least double the bed capacity of Ohio hospitals to deal with the expected surge of cases.

Makeshift hospitals — such as up to 1,000 beds at the Greater Columbus Convention Center — also are planned for any overflow of patients not hospitalized by the virus.

State officials also continue to plead for the donation or purchase of personal protective equipment for health workers and first responders and are attempting to secure more ventilators to shore up a shortage.

DeWine said a board will be appointed to settle any disputes between two local health departments when they reach differing conclusions on whether businesses are essential and should remain open.

Joining a string of coronavirus-caused cancellations of civic and sports events, organizers on Thursday canceled the annual Columbus Arts Festival set for June 12-14 along the Downtown riverfront.

To provide reinforcements for agencies losing officers to the virus, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the Peace Officer Training Academy will expedite final exams, allowing about 300 cadets to quickly join police forces.

Yost’s office also is working with local agencies to allow retired officers in good standing to return to work with a delay of up to one year to complete refresher training. More than 1,000 officers retire each year.

“This pandemic is stretching the thin blue line even thinner,” Yost said in a statement. “Now more than ever, we need all hands on deck.”

Dispatch Reporter Eric Lagatta contributed to this story.

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