Currently about 60% of the state of Ohio is under a face mask mandate and according to Governor Mike DeWine the number could go higher this week. Appearing on Meet The Press Sunday morning DeWine was asked by host Chuck Todd about whether or not he would just do a statewide mandate “We’re going the wrong way. We’re at a crucial time,” the governor answered. “This week you may see a lot more counties under that mask requirement. We certainly would not rule out going statewide. We’re certainly looking at that."
DeWine said he spoke with county health officials last week about the increasing number of cases and stressed that it wasn't just from people traveling out of state, “but it’s also about getting people to understand, “Hey, this is, this is very, very serious. And now, while we did a great job early on in Ohio, we are now headed in the wrong direction.′ And frankly, I’m very, very concerned about that. So we’re going to move ahead with orders."
Coronavirus cases have increased 43% to more than 22,000 so far this month, with 30% of all cases during the four-month-old-plus pandemic coming during July.