COLUMBUS — About one year after the first known COVID-19 death in the United States, the country's death toll nears half a million.
No other country has counted as many deaths during the pandemic. More Americans have died from COVID-19 than on the battlefields of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Of those 500,000, about 17,000 were our fellow Ohioans.
As we near this grim milestone, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Nearly 1.5 million Ohioans have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and this week, the state reported its fewest number of new cases since early October.
But Ohioans shouldn't let down their guards just yet.
"It's very important that we don't declare victory too quickly," said Chief Medical Officer of the Ohio Department of Health Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. "Vaccines are working very well, but our national vaccination effort needs more time. We have to keep up our work of preventing spread through masking and distancing."
Feb. 14 to 20 in numbers
- 9,405 new confirmed cases were reported in Ohio; a total of 818,994 confirmed cases have been reported as of Feb. 20.
- There have been 825 new hospitalizations; a total of 49,317 people have been hospitalized as of Feb. 20.
- Between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20, 350 COVID-19 deaths were reported. The state reported 14,248 total confirmed deaths Feb. 20.
- Ohio is reporting 29,143 people have recovered from the virus between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20. The state reported 884,877 total recovered cases Feb. 20.
- As of Feb. 20, 12.17 percent of the state population has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That's an increase of 182,685, down from 234,185 new vaccinations the week before.
Ohio Public Health Advisory System map
The Ohio Public Health Advisory System map remained the same last week. Four counties are "orange." 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 572 new cases, or 250 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 329 cases per 100,000 people last week;
- Trumbull County reported 405 new cases, or 205 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 246 new cases per 100,000 people last week.
- Columbiana County reported 238 new cases, or 234 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from 297 cases per 100,000 people last week.
Mahoning County meets three of the state's seven risk indicators for coronavirus spread: new cases per capita; the proportion of new cases occurring outside group settings such as long-term care or correctional facilities; and increasing number of outpatient visits for COVID-19.
Trumbull County meets two risk indicators: the number of new cases per capita 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 increaing 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. 12 and Feb. 18, the average decreased from 6 to 5 percent.
Vaccinations
- As of Saturday, 1,422,555 Ohioans have started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including 33,217 in Mahoning County, 24,706 in Trumbull and 12,511 in Columbiana.
- Statewide, 12.17 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 83 percent, up from 70 percent the week before.
Mahoning County is above the statewide rate, with 14.53 percent of county residents having received the first dose of the vaccine. In Trumbull County, 12.48 percent of residents have started to receive the vaccine, and 12.28 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
