BREAKING | Ohio sets new record for new COVID-19 cases in a single day; 243 cases in the Valley

COLUMBUS — Ohio on Thursday reported a new seven-month record for new COVID-19 cases in a single day.

The Ohio Department of Health's Wednesday report included more than 1,000 backlogged cases, but today's count of 7,087 new cases is the highest since early January during the state's winter surge. That includes 94 new cases in Mahoning County (for a total of 24,496), 76 in Trumbull (18,119) and 73 in Columbiana (10,220).

Columbiana's new case count is between two and three times higher than reported each day over the last week.

There have been 1,235,089 cases reported statewide to date. Of those, 79,932 are presumed to be active infections. At the beginning of August, there were a presumed 17,527 active infections in the state.

The average rate of positive coronavirus tests also spiked 0.7 percent between Monday and Tuesday, to reach 11.9 percent. That rate is as now as high as it was in mid-January, as the state's winter surge was on the decline. It's now more than nine times higher than the all-time low reported in late June.

The two-week positivity rate on Friday was 11 percent in Columbiana County (up from 9.4 percent at last report); 8.8 percent in Trumbull (up from 8.5 percent); and 7.9 percent in Mahoning (up from 6.3 percent).

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

Columbiana County this week reported about 413 new cases per 100,000 residents; Mahoning reported 378; and Trumbull reported 266, which was the third-lowest rate among Ohio's 88 counties.

From Wednesday to Thursday, 12,092 new vaccinations were started in the state. To date, 5,631,268 vaccine-eligible Ohioans have been fully vaccinated, or about 56.3 percent.

About 46.6 percent of all residents in Mahoning County have completed their vaccinations; 44 percent in Trumbull; and 37.8 percent in Columbiana.

This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 2:52 PM with the headline "BREAKING | Ohio sets new record for new COVID-19 cases in a single day; 243 cases in the Valley."