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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVG) – After weeks of plateau coronavirus cases in Ohio, cases and hospitalizations are on the rise – especially in northern Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Health on Wednesday recorded 2,475 new cases and 93 new hospitalizations, a significant increase from previous weeks.
ODH chief medical officer Dr Bruce Vanderhoff noted that Ohio’s “zone one” region, which covers the northern part of the state, is experiencing a more drastic upward trend than anywhere else. in Ohio. Not only are there more global cases in the northern part of the state, but there are also more variants of COVID-19 detected in the region.
Variants of concern include two California variants and the B.1.1.7 strain first identified in the UK. The disproportionate impact of the variants in the northern region can be attributed to its proximity to Michigan, according to Vanderhoff. He said Michigan had seen a 3.5-fold increase in cases than recent trends in Ohio, largely thanks to this British variant.
The vaccination race is driven in part by concern about these more contagious variants with more than 600 cases recorded in Ohio. Health officials are optimistic that continuing virus mitigation efforts alongside an increase in the number of people vaccinated may ensure victory over mutated coronavirus strains.
Lucas County’s coronavirus case rate is much higher than the statewide metric. Lucas County has 251 cases per 100,000 people while the statewide case rate is 167.1 per 100,000 people. Both statistics are well above the threshold set by the state to lift all coronavirus health orders. The governor says the orders will be lifted once Ohio hits just 50 cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks.
Lucas County is also still listed as a Level 3 public emergency, according to the state’s Public Health Advisory System, seeing a high incidence of coronavirus cases.
During the state’s coronavirus briefing, Gov. DeWine said changes would be made to vaccine allocation in the coming weeks as an additional supply is expected. The ODH will make decisions week by week on where the doses will be sent. Considerations will still be primarily population based, but will now calculate peak demand and cases to determine which counties need more doses.
As supply increases, the state has unveiled new initiatives to vaccinate as many Ohioans as possible as quickly as possible. The state will undertake an effort to vaccinate all students who wish to be vaccinated starting next week, as young adults prove to be major spreaders of the virus, largely due to more socialization and travel than d ‘other groups.
The state will also work with companies for closed-capsule vaccinations for employees starting the week of April 12.
ODH is asking providers to allow up to 25% of its vaccine supply to be allocated each week to these employer-based immunization clinics. Any supplier wishing to allocate more than 25% of their supply to closed-capsule vaccinations will need to seek state authorization.
Copyright 2021 WTVG. All rights reserved.
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