Ohio reports more than 7,000 daily COVID cases for first time since January

In the past two weeks, Ohio first surpassed 4,000, then 5,000, 6,000 and 7,000 daily COVID cases for the first time in months.

The state is averaging 3,747 cases a day in the last three weeks and 5,170 cases in the last week.

“Unfortunately, we are continuing to see our delta wave drive COVID-19 cases ever higher in Ohio,” ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said Thursday morning. “Although not the highest 24-hour numbers we have on record, these highs compare to figures that we reported during our winter surge and are more than 10 times what we experienced as recently as early July.”

From Aug. 19 through Sept. 1, Ohio is averaging a COVID transmission rate of 472.4 cases per 100,000 people, according to ODH. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define a high transmission rate as 100 cases per 100,000 residents.

All of Ohio’s 88 counties have a transmission rate of more than 100, with Pike County having the highest rate at 1,411.5 cases per 100,000 residents. Ashtabula County has the lowest rate at 168.7 cases per 100,000.

ODH reported the following transmission rates for the Miami Valley:

As of Thursday, there were 2,586 COVID-19 patients in Ohio’s hospitals and 761 patients in the ICUs, according to ODH.

COVID patients account for 9.6% of the state’s hospital beds and 15.85% of ICU beds. More than 22% of Ohio’s hospital beds and 23.58% of ICU beds are still available.

In the last day, Ohio recorded 240 hospitalizations and 29 ICU admissions. The state is averaging 154 hospitalizations a day and 15 ICU admissions a day in the last three weeks, according to ODH.

As of Thursday, 60.94% of Ohioans 12 and older and 63.14% of those 18 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 56% of residents ages 12 and older and 58.67% of adults in Ohio have completed the vaccine.