Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned Ohioans to not let their guard down when it comes to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Christie, a Republican, recently recovered from COVID-19 after a stay in an intensive care unit.
鈥淚 came out of this ok, and I鈥檓 very fortunate,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 survived, I鈥檓 alive, but it very well could have gone the other way.鈥�
Christie addressed Ohioans during Gov. Mike DeWine鈥檚 Thursday virus update, saying he thought he was safe because he was being tested daily as were those around him. He took off his mask because he thought he was safe, he said but that was when he was exposed to the virus.
Sometimes testing can give you a false sense of security, DeWine said, and the biggest takeaway from Christie鈥檚 story is to not let your guard down and don鈥檛 change behavior just because you think you鈥檙e safe or because you鈥檝e tested negative.
The former governor wrote in a that he went from feeling completely fine to being admitted into the ICU within 24 hours.
鈥淚t is a frightening experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is one of the most unpredictable, random, and brutal viruses you鈥檒l ever see.
Christie advised Ohioans to listen to Gov. DeWine, who he said has been a strong voice and a spokesman for what needs to be done during the pandemic.
DeWine went on to say that the pandemic is getting worse in Ohio, and everyone needs to do their part to prevent spread.
Ohio is seeing a dramatic increase in red or Level 3 counties this week according to . DeWine announced 38 counties are currently red, and three counties are now on the watch list for possibly moving from red to purple or Level 4 alert: Clark, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton.
Crawford, Lake, Ottawa, and Tuscarawas counties are red for the first time, largely driven by an increase in new cases and hospitalizations.
About 74 percent of Ohioans are now living in a red county, the governor said.
鈥淭his whole idea that our cases are going up solely because of an increase in testing is just nuts. It鈥檚 not right,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he way you can tell that is, look at our increase in positivity.鈥�
Ohio鈥檚 positivity rate has gone from 2.5 percent to 6 percent in a matter of weeks,
DeWine said, 鈥渘ot good.鈥�
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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