Local

WEEKLY COVID-19 TRENDS | Looking forward to a normal-ish spring

By Jess Hardin
Ohio Public Health Advisory System map on Feb. 25, 2021
Ohio Public Health Advisory System map on Feb. 25, 2021

COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine is looking forward to spring.

For the first time in weeks, measurements of coronavirus spread in Ohio’s 88 counties showed improvement, and DeWine expects to loosen pandemic restrictions this spring as a result.

A handful of counties were downgraded to the state’s level 2 “orange” alert phase and are no longer considered to have a high incidence of spread. The tri-county Mahoning Valley, however, remained a high incidence area in the level 3 “red” alert phase, according to last week's data on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Average test positivity also has sunk to its lowest point in four months, though it’s still slightly above the all-time low.

"The whole goal here will be for all of us to get back to where we want to be — get back to what our life was before the pandemic," the governor said in a news conference Thursday.

Feb. 21 to 27 in numbers

  • 9,476 new confirmed cases were reported in Ohio; a total of 828,470 confirmed cases have been reported as of Feb. 27.
  • There have been 880 new hospitalizations; a total of 50,197 people have been hospitalized as of Feb. 27.
  • Between Feb. 21 and Feb. 27, 412 COVID-19 deaths were reported. The state reported 14,660 total confirmed deaths Feb. 27.
  • Ohio is reporting 22,533 people have recovered from the virus between Feb. 21 and Feb. 27. The state reported 907,410 total recovered cases Feb. 27.
  • As of Feb. 27, 13.86 percent of the state population has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That's an increase of 197,897, up from 182,685 new vaccinations the week before.

Ohio Public Health Advisory System map

The Ohio Public Health Advisory System map is becoming less red. Eight counties are "orange," up from four last week. The rest are "red."

Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties remain red on the state alert map. Each county is also considered to have a high incidence of coronavirus spread.

All three counties meet the indicator for new cases per capita. Since last week, the rate has decreased in each county.

  • Mahoning County reported 440 new cases, or 192 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 250 cases per 100,000 people last week;
  • Trumbull County reported 323 new cases, or 163 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 242056 new cases per 100,000 people last week.
  • Columbiana County reported 207 new cases, or 203 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 234 cases per 100,000 people last week.

Mahoning County meets two of the state's seven risk indicators for coronavirus spread: new cases per capita and the proportion of new cases occurring outside group settings such as long-term care or correctional facilities.

Trumbull County meets two risk indicators: the number of new cases per capita; increasing number of new cases and the proportion of cases not in a group setting such as a long-term care or correctional facilities.

Columbiana County meets three risk indicators: the number of new cases per capita; the proportion of cases not in a group setting such as a long-term care or correctional facilities and increasing hospital admissions for COVID-19.

Testing

  • The weekly volume of virus testing statewide steadily decreased since reaching an all-time peak on Nov. 25.
  • The average percent of positive tests reached 16.1 percent Dec. 7. Between Feb. 19 and Feb. 25, the average decreased from 5 to 4 percent.

Vaccinations

  • As of Saturday, 1,620,452 Ohioans have started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including 37,482 in Mahoning County, 28,742 in Trumbull and 14,067 in Columbiana.
  • Statewide, 13.86 percent of Ohioans have started to receive the vaccine.

Five weeks ago, only about 48 percent of the vaccines distributed in Ohio were administered, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker. Last week, the rate increased to nearly 86 percent, up from 83 percent the week before.

Mahoning County is above the statewide rate, with 16.39 percent of county residents having received the first dose of the vaccine. In Trumbull County, 14.52 percent of residents have started to receive the vaccine, and 13.81 percent of Columbiana County residents have started to receive the vaccine.

Coronavirus week by week

Here's a breakdown of how each complete week of the pandemic has looked like in Ohio so far. Data in bold reflect the peaks in new cases, deaths, hospitalizations and ICU admissions.

March 15 to March 21

  • New cases: 221
  • New deaths: 3

March 22 to March 28

  • New cases: 1,159
  • New deaths: 22
  • New hospitalizations: 261
  • New ICU admissions: 123

March 29 to April 4

  • New cases: 2,333
  • New deaths: 77
  • New hospitalizations: 662
  • New ICU admissions: 203

April 5 to April 11

  • New cases: 2,448
  • New deaths: 140
  • New hospitalizations: 853
  • New ICU admissions: 246

April 12 to April 18

  • New cases: 3,752
  • New deaths: 192
  • New hospitalizations: 660
  • New ICU admissions: 188

April 19 to April 25

  • New cases: 5,044
  • New deaths: 237
  • New hospitalizations: 596
  • New ICU admissions: 178

April 26 to May 2

  • New cases: 3,554
  • New deaths: 279
  • New hospitalizations: 581
  • New ICU admissions: 128

May 3 to May 9

  • New cases: 4,023
  • New deaths: 264
  • New hospitalizations: 604
  • New ICU admissions: 134

May 10 to May 16

  • New cases: 3,276
  • New deaths: 243
  • New hospitalizations: 570
  • New ICU admissions: 100

May 17 to May 23

  • New cases: 3,452
  • New deaths: 299
  • New hospitalizations: 567
  • New ICU admissions: 129

May 24 to May 30

  • New cases: 3,351
  • New deaths: 182
  • New hospitalizations: 574
  • New ICU admissions: 119

May 31 to June 6

  • New cases: 2,769
  • New deaths: 210
  • New hospitalizations: 449
  • New ICU admissions: 102

June 7 to June 13

  • New cases: 2,485
  • New deaths: 176
  • New hospitalizations: 404
  • New ICU admissions: 104

June 14 to June 20

  • New cases: 3,169
  • New deaths: 136
  • New hospitalizations: 337
  • New ICU admissions: 79

June 21 to June 27

  • New cases: 4,907
  • New deaths: 101
  • New hospitalizations: 423
  • New ICU admissions: 83

June 28 to July 4

  • New cases: 6,519
  • New deaths: 96
  • New hospitalizations: 487
  • New ICU admissions: 136

July 5 to July 11

  • New cases: 7,840
  • New deaths: 123
  • New hospitalizations: 659
  • New ICU admissions: 116

July 12 to July 18

  • New cases: 9,356
  • New deaths: 95
  • New hospitalizations: 743
  • New ICU admissions: 143

July 19 to July 25

  • New cases: 9,050
  • New deaths: 164
  • New hospitalizations: 632
  • New ICU admissions: 126

July 26 to Aug. 1

  • New cases: 8,484
  • New deaths: 207
  • New hospitalizations: 785
  • New ICU admissions: 138

Aug. 2 to Aug. 8

  • New cases: 7,453
  • New deaths: 150
  • New hospitalizations: 569
  • New ICU admissions: 97

Aug. 9 to Aug. 15

  • New cases: 7,345
  • New deaths: 150
  • New hospitalizations: 784
  • New ICU admissions: 113

Aug. 16 to Aug. 22

  • New cases: 6,117
  • New deaths: 148
  • New hospitalizations: 568
  • New ICU admissions: 109

Aug. 23 to Aug. 29

  • New cases: 6,778
  • New deaths: 150
  • New hospitalizations: 539
  • New ICU admissions: 78

Aug. 30 to Sept. 5

  • New cases: 8,168
  • New deaths: 127
  • New hospitalizations: 520
  • New ICU admissions: 80

Sept. 6 to Sept. 12

  • New cases: 6,374
  • New deaths: 149
  • New hospitalizations: 476
  • New ICU admissions: 56

Sept. 13 to Sept. 19

  • New cases: 6,347
  • New deaths: 198
  • New hospitalizations: 466
  • New ICU admissions: 87

Sept. 20 to Sept. 26

  • New cases: 5,871
  • New deaths: 123
  • New hospitalizations: 435
  • New ICU admissions: 72

Sept. 27 to Oct. 3

  • New cases: 7,221
  • New deaths: 178
  • New hospitalizations: 550
  • New ICU admissions: 72

Oct. 4 to Oct. 10

  • New cases: 8,872
  • New deaths: 72
  • New hospitalizations: 620
  • New ICU admissions: 106

Oct. 11 to Oct. 17

  • New cases: 12,047
  • New deaths: 70
  • New hospitalizations: 654
  • New ICU admissions: 114

Oct. 18 to Oct. 24

  • New cases: 14,717
  • New deaths: 137
  • New hospitalizations: 997
  • New ICU admissions: 166

Oct. 25 to Oct. 31

  • New cases: 18,828
  • New deaths: 92
  • New hospitalizations: 1,126
  • New ICU admissions: 154

Nov. 1 to Nov. 7

  • New cases: 28,815
  • New deaths: 189
  • New hospitalizations: 1,263
  • New ICU admissions: 146

Nov. 8 to Nov. 14

  • New cases: 42,719
  • New deaths: 190
  • New hospitalizations: 1,681
  • New ICU admissions: 182

Nov. 15 to Nov. 21

  • New cases: 50,721
  • New deaths: 235
  • New hospitalizations: 2,142
  • New ICU admissions: 207

Nov. 22 to Nov. 28

  • New cases: 58,933
  • New deaths: 361
  • New hospitalizations: 2,044
  • New ICU admissions: 214

Nov. 29 to Dec. 5

  • New cases: 57,915
  • New deaths: 512
  • New hospitalizations: 2,697
  • New ICU admissions: 262

Dec. 6 to Dec. 12

  • New cases: 64,866
  • New deaths: 436
  • New hospitalizations: 2,844
  • New ICU admissions: 281

Dec. 13 to Dec. 19

  • New cases: 50,291
  • New deaths: 441
  • New hospitalizations: 2,750
  • New ICU admissions: 332

Dec. 20 to Dec. 26

  • New cases: 42,714
  • New deaths: 352
  • New hospitalizations: 1,960
  • New ICU admissions: 206

Dec. 27 to Jan. 2

  • New cases: 40,482
  • New deaths: 450
  • New hospitalizations: 2,120
  • New ICU admissions: 221

Jan. 3 to Jan. 9

  • New cases: 44,611
  • New deaths: 485
  • New hospitalizations: 2,424
  • New ICU admissions: 238

Jan. 10 to Jan. 16

  • New cases: 39,688
  • New deaths: 441
  • New hospitalizations: 1,991
  • New ICU admissions: 197

Jan. 17 to Jan 23

  • New cases: 29,204
  • New deaths: 452
  • New hospitalizations: 1,637
  • New ICU admissions: 162

Jan. 24 to Jan. 30

  • New cases: 24,335
  • New deaths: 375
  • New hospitalizations: 1,450
  • New ICU admissions: 175

Jan. 31 to Feb, 6

  • New cases: 17,780
  • New deaths: 437
  • New hospitalizations: 1,342
  • New ICU admissions: 150

Feb. 7 to Feb. 13

  • New cases: 13,159
  • New deaths: 3,554
  • New hospitalizations: 1,015
  • New ICU admissions: 93

Feb. 14 to Feb. 20

  • New cases: 9,405
  • New deaths: 350
  • New hospitalizations: 825
  • New ICU admissions: 98

Feb. 21 to Feb. 27

  • New cases: 9,476
  • New deaths: 412
  • New hospitalizations: 880
  • New ICU admissions: 107

This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "WEEKLY COVID-19 TRENDS | Looking forward to a normal-ish spring."