Active COVID cases in Tuscarawas County highest since December

The upward trajectory of new COVID-19 cases has continued in Tuscarawas County.

During the week ending Friday, 531 new cases of COVID-19 were reported. There were 464 cases during the previous seven-day period, 320 in the week ending Sept. 3, and 227 in the week ending Aug. 27.

More:'Get vaccinated,' Union Hospital's chief medical officer says

The Tuscarawas County Health Department also reported there were 1,182 active cases in the county Friday. Active case numbers were last that high in December 2020.

According to the Ohio Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Statistics, there were two additional COVID-19 related deaths among Tuscarawas County residents this past week. As of Saturday, 265 Tuscarawas County residents have been lost to COVID-19 related deaths.

The county health department reported 23 more hospitalizations among Tuscarawas County residents, compared to 25 hospitalizations in the prior week. 

Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital said it had 38 inpatients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 on Friday.

“We are experiencing the highest volume of patients with COVID-19 since last winter," the hospital said in a prepared statement. "We currently have about 425 patients with COVID-19 at our Ohio hospitals, with about half of those patients in our ICUs. As a comparison, on Aug. 16 we had about 170 patients with COVID-19 in our Ohio hospitals, and 60 in the ICU.

"Cleveland Clinic hospitals remain safe and open to care for our community. Essential and urgent inpatient surgeries — including heart, cancer, pediatrics, transplantation and neurological cases — will continue as scheduled. Some of our locations, including Cleveland Clinic Akron General and Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, are scheduling slightly fewer elective surgeries that require an inpatient stay and most of these patients are being accommodated in our other regional facilities. This is a temporary measure to address staffing challenges and to help make beds available.

"The majority of our patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. We continue to encourage everyone to receive their COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and others from serious illness due to the virus.

"Our hospitals are closely monitoring capacity and working together as a system to ensure that all patients are receiving the care they need. Cleveland Clinic is a health system with 13 hospitals in Northeast Ohio (including Union Hospital), therefore we are able to provide care for patients at multiple locations.”

For additional details about COVID-19 prepared by Cleveland Clinic, including updated visitation guidelines at Union Hospital and all Cleveland Clinic locations, visit this link: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/landing/preparing-for-coronavirus#visitors.

Anyone 12 and older who would like to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may call the county health department at 330-343-5555, extension 174 or 181, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to schedule an appointment to receive the Moderna, Pfizer/Comirnaty, or Johnson & Johnson. Only the Pfizer/Comirnaty brand is approved for use in those as young as 12.  

While 57.56% of Ohio residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated, only 44.4% of Tuscarawas County residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from Thursday. Only those 12 and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.