State health officials reported 6,615 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday - the highest daily count since late September, and a 50% increase over the recent three-week average. Ohio's top doctor says that upward trend is now showing up in hospitals.
The pandemic in Ohio is getting worse, just days before the Thanksgiving holidays. The Ohio Department of Health reports one in seven patients in hospitals statewide is battling COVID, when it was 1 in 9 patients just three weeks ago.
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says there were 2800 COVID patients in hospitals statewide Wednesday. And more than 800 were in the ICU.
“In the last 21 days, hospitalizations have, in fact, increased by 23% and ICU admissions have increased by 15%. These numbers are, quite simply, going in the wrong direction.”
Vanderhoff says the situation is likely to worsen during the upcoming holiday season when people are congregated indoors. He advises everyone over 5 who is eligible to get vaccinated or get a booster. And he says if more Ohioans had done that, the state probably wouldn’t be in this situation now.
There has been an uptick in vaccinations with the authorization of shots for young children. Over 85,500 children age 5 to 11 have begun their vaccinations, and 17,281 first shots for all age groups were reported on Thursday. Just over 52% of all Ohioans are fully innoculated.
