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DeWine Warns COVID-19 Cases Are Spiking In Southwest Ohio

By Andy Chow

Published June 18, 2020 at 9:51 PM EDT

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

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) said Thursday the state as a whole has seen a steady trend in decreasing cases of COVID-19, but warned of possible trouble in southwest Ohio.

Health officials are following what DeWine called "worrisome" trend lines in the region with flare ups in COVID-19 cases in Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Warren, and Hamilton counties.

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

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ohio
Infogram

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