BREAKING | Ohio sets new 8-month COVID-19 single-day case record

COLUMBUS — Ohio on Thursday set a new eight-month daily COVID-19 case total record.

The Ohio Department of Health reported 7,897 new cases statewide in the past 24 hours, the most new cases in a day since early January. That included 123 in Mahoning County (for a total of 25,194), 89 in Trumbull (18,591) and 60 in Columbiana (10,625).

Statewide, more than 100,000 people are presumed to be actively infected as of Thursday, up from about 17,500 at the beginning of August.

The state also reported 255 new hospitalizations. On Thursday, 3,178 Ohioans were in the hospital with COVID-19 and 873 were in ICUs. On July 9, only about 200 Ohioans were hospitalized with COVID-19; 56 were in ICUs.

The average rate of positive coronavirus tests jumped 0.3 percent from Monday to Tuesday and is now 13.7 percent. That rate continues to be as high as it was in mid-January, as the state's winter surge was on the decline.

The all-time low reported in late June was 1.3 percent.

The two-week positivity rate for the period ending Aug. 31 was 11.7 percent in Columbiana County (up from 11 percent at last report); 10.2 percent in Trumbull (up from 8.8 percent); and 9.8 percent in Mahoning (up from 7.9 percent).

Last week, the state's rate of new cases per 100,000 people over the prior two weeks jumped from 338 the week prior to 472.4. That's nearly five times the CDC's threshold for "high" transmission, which is 100 cases per 100,000 people. The two-week rate of new cases was 259 for the week ending Aug. 18.

Columbiana County last week reported about 523 new cases per 100,000 residents (up from 413); Mahoning reported 467 (up from 378); and Trumbull reported 323 (up from 266), which was the fourth-lowest rate among Ohio's 88 counties.

On Wednesday 9,336 new vaccinations were started in the state. To date, 5,685,388 vaccine-eligible Ohioans have been fully vaccinated, or about 56.9 percent.

About 47 percent of all residents in Mahoning County have completed their vaccinations; 44.7 percent in Trumbull; and 38.2 percent in Columbiana.

This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 2:37 PM with the headline "BREAKING | Ohio sets new 8-month COVID-19 single-day case record."