Cases are rising in most of the United States. Officials have said the delta variant, which is more easily spread, is one reason for the increase. Some also worried that the Fourth of July celebrations could cause an increase in cases.
Ohio has reported 1,118,513 total cases during the pandemic, according to ODH. In the last 21 days, Ohio is averaging 352 cases a day, a number that has steadily risen in the last two weeks.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health, shared a message on Twitter about the need for more Ohioans to get vaccinated.
“When we have such an effective tool to protect ourselves, the COVID-19 vaccines, the risk of going unvaccinated impacts not only those who choose not to be vaccinated but also those around them,” Vanderhoff said. “Lower vaccination rates put children under 12, for example, at risk.”
On Monday, 660 cases were reported in Ohio after a technical glitch resulted in some previous cases from being recorded.
“Positive COVID-19 cases posted on July 20 are due to a true increase in cases statewide,” read a statement posted on the state health department’s website. “Between July 18 and 19, a technical glitch with the electronic lab reporting program that had prevented 242 positive cases form being counted was corrected.”
None of the 242 cases previously uncounted were in the Miami Valley region.
Hospitalizations were also up in Ohio Tuesday. The state reported 61 hospital admissions, nearly double its 21-day average of 32.
Three ICU admissions were record in the last day in Ohio, which is average four admissions a day in the last three weeks.
Ohio reported 12 deaths Tuesday, bringing its total to 20,449. Death data can fluctuate because other states do not regularly send death certificates to ODH’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.
As of Tuesday more than 48.5% of Ohioans have started the coronavirus vaccine and 5,673,641 people in the state have received at least one shot.
Nearly 45.5% of residents have finished the vaccination and 5,315,918 people in the state have completed it.
Dr. Andrew Thomas, chief clinical officer for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explained the delta variant spreading rapidly in the U.S. now.
“The way the virus is transmitted from my mouth or my nose to your mouth or your nose is still the same. The difference with the delta variant is, it takes less of the virus going from my mouth or my nose to yours to potentially infect you,” Thomas said.
For those people who have chosen not to get the vaccine or cannot get the vaccine, Thomas said physical “distancing and masking still reduces the risks.”
“I think the delta variant just makes the case more clear for the importance of vaccination to reduce your risk of getting a more contagious virus,” Thomas said.
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