As Covid-19 cases continue to hover around the 19,000 a day mark in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine is sharing signs of optimism.

"We continue to learn how the virus is evolving and we all have hope that once we get through January that February is going to be better and if we go into the Spring it's going to be even better," Governor DeWine said. "The Omicron virus when it hit South Africa for example, it roared through there, went up very, very fast just like it's doing in Ohio now but also once it started going down, it went down pretty darn quick and we're hoping, we are hoping that we will see that here in Ohio."

DeWine continues to stress the number one tool in ending the pandemic is the vaccine and says more more Ohioans continue to get the shot.

"We don't know what's next but good news is we got 70% of adults 18 years of age and older in the state who are now vaccinated and we continue to have people who are not vaccinated, 6 to 8 thousand a day making the decision actually to get vaccinated so we're still moving forward," Governor DeWine said.

As the Supreme Court heard arguments Friday over President Biden's national vaccine mandate, DeWine stands firm that the shot should be voluntary.

"I think at this stage of the pandemic we shouldn't be telling businesses what they can or can't do, the government needs to stay out of this," Governor DeWine said. "What we have an obligation in doing and what we're doing everyday is to continue to tell people what the facts are, what the evidence is, these vaccines do in fact work but also to make them readily available. If we keep in mind the real purpose of the vaccine is to keep us out of the hospital, our vaccines are doing a very good job of doing that. Over 90% of the people in our hospitals who are there because of Covid have not been vaccinated. It just tells us if you are vaccinated, particularly if you have had your booster shot that you are in pretty good shape moving forward."

21 News Anchor Derek Steyer also spoke to the Governor about his priorities in 2022 and campaigning for re-election.

"Our focus will remain in my administration on education," Governor DeWine said. "Early childhood development, early childhood education, K-12 and then beyond and making sure every Ohioan has the opportunity to live up to their god given potential and for every Ohioan to do that, needs to have the education, so we're going to continue to focus a lot on education."

DeWine will have two challengers in the May primary, Jim Renacci and Joe Blystone. He says he'll let his accomplishments do all the talking.

"I go back to something my friend George Voinovich used to say, he would tell us when I was his Lt. Governor, George would say if we do our job every single day, do what we need to do, the politics will take care of itself and that is kind of my attitude," Governor DeWine said. "I think people expect me to be governor and do the best we can every single day and that is what we are doing."

DeWine also mentioned efforts to curb the rise in violent crime and recently opening up money for law enforcement to help tackle the issue.

"Police will tell you, whether it's in Youngstown or Warren or wherever it is, they are going to tell you I think that it is a relatively small number of people of the criminal element that are committing most of the violent crime. We just have to go after them and we have to lock them up," Governor DeWine said. "We get that violent crime is a problem and we are going to continue to work to help."

You can hear Derek's entire interview with Governor DeWine on our 21 News Podcast. You can find that on wfmj.com or the 21 News App.