Daily COVID-19 cases have remained below 6,000 for the last week. From Oct. 2 to 8, Ohio reported more than 6,000 daily cases four times.
In the last 21 days the state is averaging 5,242 cases a day. Last Friday the 21-day average was 5,842 cases a day, according to ODH. Ohio is averaging 4,529 cases a day in the last week.
ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff warned Ohioans Thursday that while he’s cautiously optimistic cases will decline moving forward, now isn’t the time to lose focus.
“We have to remain vigilant,” he said.
The number of COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals are continuing to slightly decrease. As of Friday, 3,157 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in the state, compared to 3,439 on Oct. 2. The state is seeing similar trends in ICUs and patients on ventilators. ODH reported 924 COVID-19 patients in the state’s ICUs and 621 on ventilators on Friday. On Oct. 2, there were 961 COVID-19 patients in Ohio’s ICUs and 647 on ventilators.
Ohio recorded 290 hospitalizations and 21 ICU admissions in the last day. It’s the first time in four days the state’s reported fewer than 300 daily hospitalizations and fewer than 30 ICU admissions. Last Friday Ohio reported 245 hospitalizations and 10 ICU admissions.
The state’s 21-day average is 251 hospitalizations a day and 22 ICU admissions a day.
Ohio reported 306 COVID-19 deaths Friday, bringing its total to 23,327, according to ODH.
The state updates death data twice a week. Because other states don’t regularly report death certificates to Ohio’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, death data can fluctuate.
Vanderhoff noted Thursday that due to the nature of COVID, hospitalizations and deaths are lagging indicators.
It can take days to weeks after a person tests positive for coronavirus before they may need to be hospitalized. Following a COVID patient’s death, it can be weeks or months before the state can verify whether or not it was due to the virus.
“We may not know the full impact of this surge numerically for some time,” Vanderhoff said.
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