Buried within the Thursday news conference, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted discussed the numbers of fraudulent claims for unemployment that have been filed in Ohio, saying that 796,000 claims were flagged to be investigated for potential fraud, out of the 1,118,569 filings so far, which equates to 71 percent of all filings. 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said the state is looking into the claims. The governor closed the news conference saying he is very sorry about the unemployment claims issues, and the issues are being handled as best and fast as they can by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

It was reported earlier in the week that DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted both had received notice that unemployment claims had been made in their names — indicating that the fraud is widespread in the state.

Ohioans are asked to report these instances of identity theft at a new online portal: https://unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov/ 

DeWine reminded everyone Thursday, Jan. 21, that 80 year-olds and above are eligible to receive the COVID vaccine, even though supplies are not meeting demands around the state or in the Valley. DeWine stated that beginning next week, those 75-years-old and above will be able to register to receive to shot.

DeWine announced a new partnership involving Abbott and eMed to bring rapid testing into the home. Ohio will purchase at least 2 million at-home BinaxNow COVID-19 rapid antigen tests that can be self-administered with results in about 15 minutes.

"Through an agreement with eMed to provide telehealth services, an individual who uses one of these tests can be guided by a proctor and will get the results in minutes, without having to visit a testing location,' DeWine said.

In the numbers, the governor shared there are 7,271 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours in the state, with 109 deaths, including the death of an Ohio State Highway Patrol member from COVID. All numbers are above the 21-day indicator as of Thursday.

The state has seen 849,704 COVID cases since the beginning of the pandemic. 10,518 total deaths have been reported in the state.

There have been 306 hospitalizations in the last day, above the 21-day average of 285. 44,315 people have been hospitalized in the state from the virus.

ICU admissions were up as well in the last day, with 35 people admitted, above the 21-day average of 28 people. 6,465 people have been admitted to the ICU from the disease.

The governor noted that the numbers, which had been declining, are trending slightly upward.

The incidence level in the state is at 620 cases per 100,000, down from 740 last week.

Out of any 200 Ohioans, at least one has tested positive for COVID during the past 2 weeks. The state still has more than one out of four patients who are COVID positive in the ICUs.

 Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the state has received businesses and industries that have donated PPE face shields, masks, and hand sanitizer.