Ohio moves to weekly COVID updates; nearly 400 deaths reported in 7 days

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Ohio reported nearly 400 COVID-19 deaths in the last week even as the state continues to see a decrease in the virus in cases and hospitalizations.

The state added 396 COVID deaths in seven days, according to the Ohio Department of Health. It was a slight increase from the 390 deaths reported last week.

Since coronavirus cases and hospitalizations dropped in the weeks following the omicron surge, the state health department is transitioning to weekly COVID data updates instead of daily.

“As the days and weeks pass, it becomes increasingly clear that not only are we leaving the omicron surge behind us, but we’re entering a new phase,” ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said last week.

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He added that while Ohio’s situation is improving, it’s still important for Ohioans to pay attention to their community COVID level to determine if they should wear face masks or social distance. People who are immunocompromised or at a high risk for severe illness due to coronavirus may want to continue masking regardless of community level, Vanderhoff added.

“Knowing the COVID-19 community level in your area can help your community and you as an individual identify prudent preventative measures in light of your own health situation,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates COVID community levels by 8 p.m. Thursday. As of March 10, the entire Miami Valley had a low community level, according to the CDC.

On Thursday there were 536 patients hospitalized with COVID in the state, including 142 in southwest Ohio and 24 in west central Ohio, according to the Ohio Hospital Association.

Southwest Ohio is made up of Butler, Warren, Hamilton, Adams, Brown, Clermont and Clinton counties, and west central Ohio includes Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Shelby counties.

Overall the state has seen a 91% decrease in hospitalized COVID patients in the last 60 days, with west central Ohio reporting a 96% decline and southwest Ohio having an 86% decrease.

As for the 89 ICU patients with the virus in Ohio, 24 were in southwest Ohio and three in west central Ohio, according to OHA. In the past 60 days west central Ohio’s number of ICU patients with coronavirus dropped by 97% with southwest Ohio reporting an 88% decrease during the same time period.

In the past week Ohio added 309 COVID hospitalizations and 50 ICU admissions, according to ODH. The state’s average seven-day total is 441 hospitalizations and 53 ICU admissions in the last 21 days.

Ohio reported 3,605 new COVID-19 cases in the last week. Over the last three weeks it’s average is 5,446 cases reported in seven days.

More than 62% of Ohioans have started the coronavirus vaccine, including 72.2% of adults and 66.07% of people ages 5 and older. Approximately 57.5% of residents, including 67.07% of adults and 61.18% of those 5 and older, have finished their vaccination.

Nearly 7.27 million people in Ohio have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 6.72 million have completed it. About 3.44 million Ohioans have received a booster or additional vaccine dose, according to ODH.

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