COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday reported 8,260 new COVID-19 cases, with cases staying at their recent low levels.
Weekly COVID-19 cases have resided at four-digit levels for the first time since falling below 8,000 in the week of April 15, 2022. While cases fell under 8,000 in January, they teetered slightly above moving into February. The latest numbers defy trends from the past two years, when COVID-19 infections historically swelled during and after the holiday season. December's highest weekly amount of new COVID-19 patients reached 17,891.
ODH began reporting COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations weekly instead of daily in mid-March 2022 after new infections slowed to a low level after the omicron wave. Over the past seven days, the state averaged around 1,180 new coronavirus cases per day. The 387 hospitalizations reported by ODH in the past seven days -- about 55 per day -- were down from the 479 reported last week and 434 in the week prior.
While hospitalizations decreased, COVID-19 deaths increased in Ohio slightly. ODH said 109 people died from the virus compared to 106 deaths the week prior, which was just barely below the 110 reported two weeks ago.
| COVID-19 metric | Total | Change (past 7 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 3,356,027 | +8,260 |
| Hospitalizations | 136,139 | +387 |
| Deaths | 41,464 | +109 |
The drop in COVID-19 cases has also coincided with a decrease in vaccinations. A total of 2,050 Ohioans started the COVID-19 vaccination process in the last seven days, compared to 2,588 in the week prior. Another 2,189 finished vaccination by getting their second dose, down from 2,451. Around six in 10 Ohioans are partially or fully vaccinated.
| COVID-19 metric | Total | Change (past 7 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Vaccinations started (one dose) | 7,564,160 | +2,050 |
| – % of all Ohioans | 64.71% | |
| – % of Ohioans 5+ | 68.20% | |
| Vaccinations completed (two doses) | 7,011,590 | +2,189 |
| – % of all Ohioans | 59.98% | |
| – % of Ohioans 5+ | 63.42% |