Ohio reports 24,465 new COVID-19 cases since last week; 903 Valley cases

The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday reported 24,465 new COVID-19 cases statewide since last week.

The total includes 903 new cases in the Mahoning Valley: 401 new cases in Mahoning County (for a total of 57,289), 357 in Trumbull (44,654) and 145 in Columbiana (25,780), according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The state is nearing 2.9 million total cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic. In April, the state surpassed 38,000 total reported deaths.

Valley counties reported a combined average of about 111 new cases each day this month. There was an average of 119 new cases each day in June; 105 each day in May; 25 each day in April; 21 each day in March; 93 each day in February; 749 each day in January; 434 each day in December; 320 each day in November; and 259 each day in October.

The rate of new cases

The state’s two-week average number of new cases per 100,000 Ohioans rose this week for the third week in a row. That average rate is now at 334 cases per 100,000 people. That’s up from 277 the previous week. It was 253 cases the week prior. The all-time low was just 20 cases per 100,000 people for the two weeks ending June 30, 2021.

Valley counties’ average rates of new cases have also risen. Mahoning County this week reported 279 new cases per 100,000 residents (up from 234 at last report); Trumbull reported 276 new cases (up from 207); and Columbiana County reported 217 new cases (up from 176).

Mahoning and Trumbull counties’ community levels of COVID-19 remain elevated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC on Thursday reported each county had a “medium” community level, indicating the virus is spreading more broadly and burdening hospitals. Columbiana County’s community level was reported “low” this week..

That community level metric combines three separate statistics: The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions per 100,000 county residents in the past seven days and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, the latter of which represents the coronavirus’ current strain on the local hospital system.

For those in counties with “medium” community levels, the CDC recommends people who are immunocompromised or at high risk from COVID-19 ask their physician whether they need to mask up or take other precautions like testing.

The CDC advises those who live with or have contact with an at-risk person to self-test before socializing and consider masking when indoors with those people.

Hospitalizations and deaths

There were 550 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and 39 new ICU admissions reported statewide since last week, according to ODH. The number of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized statewide has risen from this time last week.

As of Thursday, 1,008 people were hospitalized in the state with COVID-19, up from 858 last Thursday, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. As of Thursday, 141 COVID-positive patients were in intensive care units, up from 120 last Thursday.

There have been 38,854 total COVID-19 deaths reported in the state. The state reported 35 new COVID-19 deaths since last week, including four new deaths in Mahoning; two in Trumbull; and one in Columbiana. That makes 103 new deaths reported so far this month.

There were nearly 220 new deaths reported statewide in June; about 180 in May; about 380 in April; about 1,170 in March; about 3,500 in February; more than 3,600 in January; more than 2,800 in December; about 2,000 in November; and more than 2,500 in October. ODH attributes deaths to the date they occurred, so new death reports are not indicative of their time frame.

Wastewater surveillance and testing

Ongoing statewide surveillance of wastewater for traces of the coronavirus gene is being used as an early warning of an impending spike in new cases in particular communities.

Last week, Warren’s Water Pollution Control Facility reported a substantial increase of at least double the average number of gene fragments detected between June 14 and June 28, according to the state’s Wastewater Monitoring Network dashboard. That’s a higher rate than reported the prior two weeks.

The Youngstown Wastewater Treatment Plant has reported little change from the prior two weeks’ reports.

The state health department is no longer providing statewide data on coronavirus testing. That data included the average seven-day rate of positive coronavirus tests statewide and among each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Vaccinations and breakthrough infections

The state in April surpassed 7.3 million first vaccinations, and as of the week of July 7, more than 63% of all Ohioans had received at least one dose.

As of Thursday, 6,842,506 vaccine-eligible Ohioans have been fully vaccinated, or 58.5% of Ohioans. As of Thursday, 56% of all residents in Mahoning County have completed their vaccinations; 53% in Trumbull; and 45.8% in Columbiana.

As of Wednesday, fully vaccinated people have accounted for 5,054 hospitalizations in the state since Jan. 1, 2021, and 1,305 fully vaccinated people have died. That means breakthrough infections are attributed to 5.2% of all COVID-19 deaths reported since the beginning of last year, and 6.6% of all hospitalizations.

More than 62,000 Ohioans are presumed to be actively infected as of Thursday. That number rose this week for the second week in a row. That’s up from the most recent low of 12,100 Ohioans the week on March 31, but down from the most recent high of 440,000 Ohioans on Jan. 17.