Ohio Surpasses 700,000 Positive COVID-19 Cases: Thursday Update

COLUMBUS, OH — Just one day after Gov. Mike DeWine urged Ohio residents to have a sense of urgency in getting the coronavirus vaccine if given the opportunity, the state surpassed the 700,000 mark of confirmed cases, state health officials announced on Thursday.

As 2020 reached its final day, 9,632 new confirmed cases and 107 new COVID-19 related deaths were announced by the Ohio Department of Health. Both the new cases and new deaths are higher than the state’s 21-day rolling average of 8,025 cases and 79 deaths, respectively.

Thursday’s totals take Ohio’s caseload up to 700,380 since the pandemic began while the statewide death toll approached 9,000 as 8,962 people have died from the coronavirus or from complications of the virus, according to officials.

State officials announced that they will not release coronavirus numbers on Friday when the New Year's Day holiday observed. Saturday's totals will reflect two days worth of data, officials said.

DeWine said that while confirmed cases across the state have plateaued a bit, they have done so at a high level. All of Ohio’s 88 counties exceed the Centers for Disease and Prevention’s high instances rate with some, which means that at least 100 people per 100,000 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past two weeks. In some cases, DeWine said, cases in at least seven counties were 10 times that high with the average county registering 769 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.

As of Thursday, 33,334 people have been hospitalized across the state with the coronavirus while a total of 556,106 are presumed to be recovered since the pandemic began in March.

On Wednesday, DeWine expressed frustration with the rate at which vaccinations were being done across Ohio. Although the state has received more that 550,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, just more than 94,000 shots had been distributed to frontline workers, healthcare professionals and residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

DeWine said that while he is leaving the choice whether to be vaccinated up to individuals, he said that those who have access to shots are encouraged to get them as there is no guarantee when they will have the opportunity to do so.

While the state is expecting more than 250,000 additional doses of the vaccines next week, he said he is urging hospitals to get vaccinations done within 24 hours of when they receive the vaccines as Phase1A of the distribution process continues across the state.

"We can't control how fast the vaccine comes into the state of Ohio and we know there is a scarcity," DeWine said in a news conference Wednesday. "… While we can't control how much comes in each week, we certainly can control how fast we get it out."

"There is a moral imperative to get it out as quickly as we can."