(24/7 News) -- Governor Mike DeWine will announce his plan to begin opening up businesses across Ohio on Monday. During Thursday's Coronavirus briefing, DeWine said the process will be a slow one, in order to make sure customers and employees remain safe during the ongoing pandemic. The governor also said he must ensure the state has an adequate testing capacity, and the number of hospitalized patients continues to decline. Lieutenant Governor Husted added that it won't be as easy as simply flipping a switch to restart the economy.
The death toll from Coronavirus now stands at 656 in Ohio, up 46 over the last 24-hours. More than 14-thousand people are infected with the virus. Nearly three-thousand of those people are hospitalized, 900 of them are in intensive. All numbers include both confirmed and presumed cases of COVID-19.
Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is urging Ohioans not to be alarmed by an uptick in Coronavirus cases. She says the numbers are growing as testing is expanding across the state. Currently, only hospitalized patients and healthcare workers are being tested for the virus.
Marion County has become a Coronavirus hot spot in Ohio. Health officials say the county has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. However, the majority of the 2,161 cases are inmates and staff at the Marion County Correctional Institution.