State health officials Tuesday reported 7,580 new cases of COVID-19 and 104 new deaths.
Ohio has recorded 735-thousand cases and over 92-hundred deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
State medical director Doctor Bruce Vanderhoff says there are nearly 45-hundred Ohioans currently hospitalized with COVID-19 - three times the number in November. And intensive care units are already at 80 percent capacity as the state enters the traditionally busy months of January and February. He says some cities are implementing strategies to re-route emergency patients where needed:
“The Columbus hospitals initiated a citywide Emergency Patient Diversion. As a result, all the hospitals, EMS, police and fire in Columbus are working together to balance care, and make sure that patients get to an emergency room and hospital that is best able to take new patients.”
Vanderhoff says the new coronavirus variant that has entered at least three states from Great Britain is a concern because it is highly contagious. But he says there is no evidence that it is resistant to the vaccine. And he says it underscores the need for Ohioans to continue to practice social distancing, wash hands, and wear face masks.
