Ohio reports 3,668 new COVID-19 cases in first full weekly release
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday reported 3,668 new COVID-19 cases for the past seven days, the first full weekly period since infection reporting switched from daily earlier this month.
Ohio averaged about 524 new coronavirus infections over the past seven days, in line with a trend since early March in which cases per day have been well under 1,000. Cases haven't been this low since July 2021.
The switch to weekly reporting coincides with new infections continuing at a low level after the omicron variant wave. Last week, the first weekly report, covered only four days.
Hospitalization, death and vaccine reporting are also weekly now. The 193 hospitalizations reported by ODH in the past seven days (about 28 per day) follow recent trends. And 383 more Ohioans died of COVID-19.
| COVID-19 metric | Total | Change (past 7 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 2,669,698 | +3,668 |
| Hospitalizations | 113,572 | +193 |
| Deaths | 37,793 | +383 |
7,460 Ohioans started the COVID-19 vaccination process in the past seven days, per ODH data. Another 9,242 finished vaccination by getting their second dose. Around 6 in 10 Ohioans are partially or fully vaccinated.
| COVID-19 metric | Total | Change (past 7 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Vaccinations started (one dose) | 7,274,030 | +7,460 |
| - % of all Ohioans | 62.23% | +0.06% |
| - % of eligible Ohioans (age 5+) | 66.14% | +0.07% |
| Vaccinations completed (two doses) | 6,738,029 | +9,242 |
| - % of all Ohioans | 57.64% | +0.08% |
| - % of eligible Ohioans (age 5+) | 61.26% | +0.08% |
When asked in a Thursday news conference whether daily reporting will come back if COVID-19 cases spike again, ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said he could not predict that. He said weekly reporting follows a risk model established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Data scientists looked back over time and said, 'What paradigm would help to best understand risk at a community level related to COVID-19," he said, "given the kind of data that we collect and is available?"
The CDC switched its county risk map in late February from daily to weekly, and the color code is now based more on hospitalizations than cases.
While reporting daily cases in Ohio was "helpful," Vanderhoff said, "it had some shortcomings," like how numbers would vary depending on day of the week.
"What became very, very clear is that actually, a week picture was the most accurate picture," he said, "because it evened those things out and allowed for better comparison."