Ohio reports 918 new COVID-19 cases; 29 cases in the Valley

The Ohio Department of Health on Friday reported 918 new COVID-19 cases statewide in the past 24 hours.

That includes 29 new cases in the Mahoning Valley: eight new cases in Mahoning County (for a total of 53,111), 11 in Trumbull (41,258) and 10 in Columbiana (24,275), according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The state last month surpassed 2.6 million total cases since the beginning of the pandemic and last week surpassed 36,000 total reported deaths.

The state on Friday reported 201 new COVID-19 deaths since its last mortality report four days prior, including three new deaths in Mahoning County and five in Trumbull. That makes 438 new deaths reported in just the first four days of the month.

About 3,500 new deaths were reported statewide in February; more than 3,600 in January; more than 2,800 in December; about 2,000 in November; more than 2,500 in October; nearly 1,110 in September; and about 380 in August. ODH attributes deaths to the date they occurred, so new death reports are not indicative of their time frame.

The average number of new cases per 100,000 Ohioans over the prior two weeks dropped again this week — the sixth straight week of decline. That average rate is now 105 cases per 100,000 people, down from 161 the previous week. It was at 265 new cases the week prior.

The state’s two-week average of new cases per 100,000 is the lowest it’s been since late July, but it’s still higher than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for “high” transmission, which is 100 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks. The all-time low was just 19 cases per 100,000 people in July 2021.

Valley counties’ new average case rates are also declining, but Columbiana County’s remains above the CDC’s high threshold. Columbiana reported 133 new cases per 100,000 residents (down from 186 at last report); Trumbull reported 80 cases (down from 112); and Mahoning reported 78 cases (down from 126).

Valley counties have reported a combined average of 34 new cases so far this month.

There was an average of 93 new cases reported each day in February; 749 cases each day in January; 434 cases each day in December; 320 cases each day in November; and 259 cases each day in October.

There were 65 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and no new ICU admissions reported statewide in the past 24 hours, according to ODH. The number of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in the state has been decreasing.

As of Friday, 900 people were hospitalized in the state for COVID-19, down from 954 on Thursday according to the Ohio Hospital Association. That’s 1 in 22 of all patients now in Ohio hospitals. On Thursday, that was 1 in 21. As of Friday, 177 patients were in the ICU, up from 196 patients on Thursday.

As of Wednesday, fully vaccinated people accounted for 4,190 hospitalizations in the state since Jan. 1, 2021, and 1,134 fully vaccinated people have died. That means breakthrough infections are attributed to 4.9% of all COVID-19 deaths reported since the beginning of last year, and 6.1% of all hospitalizations.

More than 28,000 Ohioans are presumed to be actively infected as of Friday, the lowest level since mid-August, which is down from the most recent high of 440,000 Ohioans on Jan. 17.

The state’s average seven-day rate of positive coronavirus tests — which is down from January’s record high — dropped Wednesday to 3.8%, its lowest point since late July.

The all-time record high was 32.7% on Jan. 12. Before the recent surge of new cases, the state’s previous all-time high was 23.6% on April 20, 2020, amid COVID-19’s first wave. Tuesday’s positivity rate is still nearly three times higher than the all-time low of 1.3% reported in late June. Valley counties’ positivity rates per 100,000 people are now dropping but are all still above the state average.

The rates for the two-week period ending Feb. 22 were 6.6% in Columbiana (down from 11.3% the prior two weeks); 7% in Trumbull County (down from 10%); and 6.7% in Mahoning (down from 8.4%).

The state last month surpassed 7.2 million first vaccinations, and as of Jan. 26, 61% of all Ohioans had received at least one dose.

As of Friday, 6,689,004 vaccine-eligible Ohioans have been fully vaccinated, or 60.8% of Ohioans age 5 and older. As of Friday, 54.9% of all residents in Mahoning County have completed their vaccinations; 52% in Trumbull; and 44.8% in Columbiana.