Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during his coronavirus briefing on Monday. (Ohio Channel)Ohio Channel
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,301 new coronavirus cases Thursday, continuing a nearly three-week trend of spiking case numbers that is also now being reflected in hospitalizations.
The newly reported cases raised the total to 54,166 known cases since the first three were confirmed on March 9. Thursday marked the third-highest single-day total, surpassed only by two days of intensive prison testing April 19-20.
The rolling seven-day average for new cases reported is now at 931 a day, the highest level to date. This average had dipped to as low as 381 on June 12 before beginning the climb.
The state also reported Thursday that 2,903 people have died with the coronavirus, up from 27 in Wednesday’s report, and 8,038 have been hospitalized, up from 7,911. The reporting of deaths, however, often lags by a week or more, rather than being reflective of deaths in the last 24 hours.
The number of patients hospitalized at some point increased by 127 in Thursday’s report. Total hospitalizations to date stand at 8,038.
The health department for the first time reported the number of “presumed recovered,” placing that estimate at 38,987. These are the number of cases that are at least three weeks old and do not involve deceased people. Subtracting out deaths, that leaves an estimated 12,276 cases remaining.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine rolled out a new coronavirus alert grading system to highlight areas of special concern. Seven counties were placed in the red alert category because of high concerns – Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery and Trumbull.
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