Almost all Ohio counties remain on red alert for coronavirus in first update for 2021

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ohio remains a sea of ​​red for coronavirus concerns with 84 of the state’s 88 counties placed on Level 3 Red Alert Thursday in the state’s first update to the state advisory system for 2021.

This widespread concern has largely been the case over the past few weeks, including no change from a week ago, with the same 84 red counties and the same four counties one notch lower at Orange 2 – Gallia, Hocking , Monroe and Vinton, all in Southeast Ohio.

In contrast, in early October, only 10 counties were on red alert, none in the Greater Cleveland / Akron area. That changed as cases rose, deaths rose and hospital beds filled in Ohio in late fall.

The number of COVID-19 patients statewide has increased from 700 on the first day of October to more than 5,000 for several days in the first part of December. While cases and hospitalizations have since declined, they remain at levels well above where they were through most of the summer and early fall.

And on Thursday, Ohio reported 10,251 new cases, the largest increase in one day since December 17. (Two dates where more cases were reported were the days after Christmas and New Years, but those reports included two days. There were no reports of holidays.)

The red alert designation, according to the state’s advisory system, means there is a public emergency for increased exposure and spread and people need to “exercise great caution.”

Vaccinations began in late December, but to date, the state reports that just over 200,000 of Ohio’s 9.1 million adults have received the first of two required doses.

The weekly alert card, first introduced in July, offered a glimpse into the first few months when the spread was worst in Ohio, but as the spread increased this fall, it has become largely uniform .

The level of concern of greatest concern is Level 4 purple, which comes with the warning to “leave home only for supplies and services”. However, no county in Ohio is on purple alert from Richland County on December 17.

The Ohio Department of Health is tracking seven metrics to determine alert levels. Indicators include the number of new cases per capita, the increase in physician and emergency room visits, hospital capacity levels and the number of cases originating outside collective living centers such as hospitals. retirement homes.

Although still red due to a high number of new cases, Cuyahoga County met the warning criteria this week for only two of the seven areas monitored.

Cuyahoga’s rate of 624.3 new cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks, excluding incarcerated people, well above the concern threshold of 50 cases per 100,000 people. The other area reported for Cuyahoga County is that more than half of the cases in recent weeks have occurred outside of community living centers.

The advisory system

Here is an overview of the DeWine advisory system introduced in early July.

* 1. New cases – Alert triggered when there are 50 new cases per 100,000 residents in the last two weeks.

* 2. Increase in new cases – Alert triggered by an increase in cases for five consecutive days at any time during the past three weeks. This is based on the date of onset of symptoms, not when cases are reported.

* 3. Living cases not collected – Alert triggered when at least 50% of new cases in one of the last three weeks occurred in outdoor collective living spaces such as nursing homes and prisons.

* 4. Emergencies – Alert triggered when there is an increase in visits for COVID-like symptoms or diagnosis for five consecutive days at any time during the past three weeks.

* 5. Visits to the doctor – Alert triggered when there is an increase in outpatient visits resulting in confirmed cases or a suspected diagnosis of COVID-19 for five consecutive days at any time during the past three weeks.

* 6. Hospitalizations – Alert triggered when there is an increase in the number of new COVID-19 patients for five consecutive days at any time during the past three weeks. This is based on county or residence, not the location of the hospital.

* sept. Occupation of the intensive care unit – Alert triggered when the occupancy rate of intensive care units in a region exceeds 80% of total intensive care unit beds and at least 20% of beds are used for coronavirus patients for at least at least three days last week.

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