OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine had some good news and not so good news to share during his briefing concerning COVID-19 hotspots and testing.

Several weeks ago, urban areas in Ohio couldn’t seem to shake the spread of COVID-19. Now, DeWine says the tables have turned.

“We've seen the urban areas that a bigger percentage of people are wearing masks for a longer period of time, and we're seeing those numbers come down unfortunately we're seeing the numbers go up in our rural areas," DeWine said.

Sleepovers and no masks in places like exercise classes are to blame. 

But that reality didn’t put a damper on the progress the state’s made. 

“We have nine red counties with the lowest number of red counties since we started the alert system eight weeks ago.”

And for the first time since that system started, a record number of counties like Cuyahoga and Montgomery have dropped out of the red zone. Families with loved ones in assisted-living facilities can be assured they’ll be getting tested.

“Statewide testing initiative for Ohio’s more than 765 assisted living facilities is underway," DeWine announced.

It’s a minimally invasive saliva based test, which DeWine said has a 48-hour turn around time for results.

“I’m issuing an order that requires assisted-living facilities to participate in COVID-19 testing is either.”

DeWine said since they’ve started within the last few days, they’ve gotten back a four percent positivity rate.

“We just—when you go into an assisted living (facility) and you test, you get those numbers back then, the local health department can take over tracing could occur and lives can be saved.”

As the state looks to cut the spread of the virus, DeWine said he’s confident the testing will work well. In the meantime, he’s counting on rural counties to do their part now by masking up so that things don’t get out of hand.

DeWine also gave adult day centers and senior centers to open back up on Sept. 21 at a reduced capacity—that's as long as they meet safety guidelines.