Ohio reports 594 new COVID-19 cases; 24 Valley cases

[Editor’s note: Starting Monday, March 14, the Ohio Department of Health plans to begin reporting state COVID-19 statistics weekly on Thursdays, rather than daily. Mahoning Matters’ daily reports will also begin following that weekly schedule. We will continue to provide regular reports on the scope of the pandemic, and will keep providing the latest data as it becomes available.]

The Ohio Department of Health on Friday reported 594 new COVID-19 cases statewide in the past 24 hours.

That includes 24 new cases in the Mahoning Valley: six new cases in Mahoning County (for a total of 53,180), 13 in Trumbull (41,326) and five in Columbiana (24,300), 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 on Tuesday surpassed 37,000 total reported deaths.

Valley counties have reported a combined average of 27 new cases each day 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 48 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and six 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, 668 people were hospitalized in the state for COVID-19, down from 718 on Thursday, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. That’s 1 in 29 of all patients now in Ohio hospitals. On Thursday, that was 1 in 28. As of Friday, 126 patients were in the ICU, down from 131 on Thursday.

The state on Friday reported 212 new COVID-19 deaths since its last mortality report four days prior, including five in Trumbull. That makes 806 new deaths reported so far this 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.

As of Wednesday, fully vaccinated people accounted for 4,397 hospitalizations in the state since Jan. 1, 2021, and 1,174 fully vaccinated people have died. That means breakthrough infections are attributed to nearly 5% of all COVID-19 deaths reported since the beginning of last year, and 6.4% of all hospitalizations.

More than 20,000 Ohioans are presumed to be actively infected as of Friday, the lowest level since last summer, 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 — remained Wednesday at 3.1%, 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 more than two times higher than the all-time low of 1.3% reported in late June. Valley counties’ positivity rates per 100,000 people are also dropping but are all still above the state average.

The rates for the two-week period ending March 1 were 5.8% in Trumbull County (down from 7%); 5.4% in Columbiana (down from 6.6% the prior two weeks); and 5.4% in Mahoning (down from 6.7%).

The state’s average number of new cases per 100,000 Ohioans over the prior two weeks dropped again this week — the seventh straight week of decline. That average rate is now 79 cases per 100,000 people, the lowest point since August. That’s down from 105 the previous week. It was at 161 new cases the week prior. The all-time low was just 19 cases per 100,000 people in July 2021.

Valley counties’ new average case rates also continue to decline. Columbiana reported 73 new cases per 100,000 residents (down from 133 at last report); Trumbull reported 60 cases (down from 80); and Mahoning reported 54 cases (down from 78).

The state last month surpassed 7.2 million first vaccinations, and as of Thursday, 62% of all Ohioans had received at least one dose.

As of Friday, 6,717,748 vaccine-eligible Ohioans have been fully vaccinated, or nearly 61.1% of Ohioans age 5 and older. As of Friday, nearly 55% of all residents in Mahoning County have completed their vaccinations; 52.1% in Trumbull; and 45.1% in Columbiana.