SIDNEY – Ohio’s curfew has been lifted as a result of declining COVID-19 hospitalizations, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday afternoon.

The curfew had been in place since Nov. 19 in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Two weeks ago the curfew was pushed back from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

DeWine previously said he would drop the curfew if the number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s hospitals dropped below 2,500 for seven consecutive days. Thursday marked the 10th consecutive day below that threshold.

If hospitalizations rise again, DeWine said, the Ohio Department of Health could reinstate the curfew.

Locally, Shelby County has reported 4,341 cases of COVID-19 with 136 hospitalizations and 25 deaths during the pandemic. The county saw an increase of two hospitalizations and one death since last week.

There are 4,118 Shelby County residents who are presumed to have recovered from COVID-19, and there are 198 active cases – down from the 288 active cases that were reported last week.

Throughout Ohio there have been 931,437 cases of COVID-19 with 48,269 hospitalizations, 6,908 intensive care admissions and 12,577 deaths.

During his press conference Thursday, DeWine announced there were 2,806 new cases of COVID-19 reported throughout the state in the previous 24 hours. That’s below the 21-day average of 3,892 cases.

Ohio reported 189 new hospitalizations, which is up from the 21-day average of 188. There were 19 new ICU admissions, which is down from the 21-day average of 21.

Ohio also reported 721 new deaths, which is up from the 21-day average of 98. The Ohio Department of Health announced there was a reconciliation issue with its death data. During the coming week, there will be an increase in the number of deaths reported as the reconciliation process is resolved.

In Shelby County, 3,702 people have received a COVID-19 vaccination, which is 7.62% of the population and up 775 people since last week. Statewide, 1,161,056 people have been vaccinated, which is 9.93% of the population.

DeWine announced Ohio would receive 214,525 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week and will receive 223,025 first doses next week.

Vaccines are available for select populations including health care workers, EMS personnel, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and people with certain medical conditions. This week vaccinations became available to Ohioans 65 and older.

DeWine announced Thursday he has directed the Ohio Department of Health and local health providers to prioritize people with developmental disabilities and severe medical conditions for vaccination.

Next week, Ohioans with certain conditions they were born with or those which were diagnosed in childhood and carried into adulthood will be able to begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines as part of Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination program.

Conditions include sickle cell anemia; Down syndrome; cystic fibrosis; muscular dystrophy; cerebral palsy; spina bifida; epilepsy with continuing seizures, hydrocephaly, microcephaly and other sever neurological disorders; Turner syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome and other severe genetic disorders; and alpha and beta thalassemia. Also eligible for vaccinations will be people born with severe heart defects requiring regular specialized medical care, people with severe type 1 diabetes who have been hospitalized for the condition within the past year and people with severe asthma who have been hospitalized for the condition in the past year.

Local vaccine providers include the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department, Wilson Health, Kroger Pharmacy, Walgreens and CVS.

To receive vaccine notifications from Wilson Health and the Health Department, visit www.shelbycountyhealthdept.org or call 937-498-7249.

To make an appointment with Kroger, visit www.kroger.com/rx/guest/get-vaccinated or call 866-211-5320.

To make an appointment with Walgreens, visit www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19 or call 937-492-5340.

To make an appointment with CVS, visit cvs.com, use the CVS app or call 800-679-9691.

For those 65 and older who need transportation assistance to receive a vaccination, contact the Area Agencies on Aging at www.aging.ohio.gov or call 866-243-5678.

For more information about COVID-19, visit https://coronavirus.ohio.gov and www.shelbycountyhealthdept.org.