The state of Ohio surpassed another milestone Friday by going over 15,000 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
However, the state appears to be descending the daily case curve, with another 475 cases reported Friday, for a cumulative total of 15,169 cases since COVID-19 was detected in Ohio March 9.
This week Ohio's case numbers went down significantly after nearly 80% of inmates tested positive for COVID-19 at the Marion and Pickaway correctional institutions last week.
The number of new cases could rise again as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine promised to ramp up testing at nursing homes, homeless shelters and other places where people live in close quarters.
"We need to get more aggressive about protecting people in nursing homes," DeWine said Friday.
The Governor also outlined a plan to increase health department contact tracing to put out hot spots of infection after the state partially re-opens on May 1.
The decrease in daily cases is also evident in Cuyahoga County, despite another 49 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday.
Although fewer cases were reported, Cuyahoga County reported nine more deaths Friday. The state's death toll is now 690 from the coronavirus.
Here is a county by county breakdown of COVID-19 deaths.
