DeWine: ‘Big Increase’ in COVID-19 Cases

COLUMBUS, Ohio — While the state has seen increased numbers over the past week, Gov. Mike DeWine says the 892 new cases of coronavirus reported Thursday mark the fourth-highest day of cases by report date.

“It is important to note that in today’s case increase, almost 60% of these individuals are in the 20 to 49-year-old range,” DeWine said.

That is up from 476 reported at the start of the current 21-day trend, with a 21-day reported case average of 494. The 21-day average of key indicators – cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths – is what the Ohio Department of Health looked to when determining when to reopen the state.

DeWine referred to the other key indicators as “fairly steady.” In the last 24 hours, Ohio reports 55 new hospitalizations (21-day average of 57), 11 new ICU admissions (21-day average of 13), and 17 new deaths (21-day average of 21).

The governor acknowledged that increased cases are expected with the increased testing in the state, “but no analyst that I have talked to believes that the total increase is due to that,” DeWine said.

On June 23, the state tested 17,091 individuals, of whom 821, or about 5%, tested positive. The positivity rate has been holding steady between 4% and 6% since about the middle of May, despite the increase in testing, he said.

The average age of those infected has been steadily trending down since January, data from the Department of Health shows. In June, the average age of someone testing positive for COVID-19, the disease spread by the Coronavirus, is 42, down from 48 in May, and down from 55 in January.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.