COVID-19 Surge Strains Northern Ohio Hospitals, Omicron Threat Increasing

CLEVELAND — The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be worsening in Ohio and the northern portion of the state is bearing the brunt of the surge.

Of particular concern is the possibility of a double-barreled surge, with the delta and omicron variants simultaneously spreading through communities.

Medical officials are increasingly worried about the omicron variant, particularly in Greater Cleveland. The variant was first confirmed in the region on Monday but may be responsible for a swift uptick in new cases locally.

The Cleveland Clinic receives approximately 3,000 COVID-19 tests per day and one in three are positive, News 5 noted. Of the positive tests, half are now caused by omicron. University Hospitals said omicron is now responsible for 10 to 20 percent of their positive cases, WKYC reported.

This is particularly concerning because the delta variant is the catalyst for the most-recent surge, which may not have yet peaked, according to Dr. Steve Gordon, chairman of the Department of Infectious Diseases. On Thursday, the Cleveland Clinic's intensive care units were 50 percent consumed by COVID-19 patients, he said.

During a news conference on Thursday, Gordon worried that as masking and social distancing diminishes during the holidays, and the omicron variant emerges in the region, there could be a double surge driven by both delta and omicron.

"We are hoping for the best, but we are all preparing for the worst," he said.

The Current Situation

On Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine deployed the Ohio National Guard to bolster the state's hospitals and provide additional staffing during the holiday season. He also directed the Ohio Department of Health to contract with a staffing agency to bus trained medical staff into the state.

Ohio is now averaging more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases and 300 hospitalizations per day. On Friday, the state eclipsed 10,000 new cases confirmed in a 24-hour period.

Nearly 4,700 Ohioans are currently hosptialized due to COVID-19, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. That means one out of every four people in an Ohio hospital is COVID-19 positive.

The situation is worse in the state's intensive care units, where 1,020 Ohioans are currently COVID-19 positive. That's one out of every three patients in an ICU ward in Ohio.

"We are in a very serious situation," said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health. "Our number of patients in intensive care units are almost as bad as it has ever been throughout the entire pandemic."

The current COVID-19 surge is hitting northern Ohio particularly hard.

• Read more: Cleveland Clinic's Nonessential Surgeries Postponed Again

The Cleveland Department of Public Health and Case Western Reserve University are now tracking the region's COVID-19 situation and sharing the data publicly. According to their newly launched dashboard tracking cases in Greater Cleveland, more than 10 percent of Friday's new cases came from Cuyahoga County.

On Friday, they announced that 1,031 new cases were confirmed among Cuyahoga County residents. That's the most cases ever confirmed in one day in the region, according to the researchers.

Many hospitals throughout Northeast Ohio have postponed nonessential surgeries to preserve beds and are urging residents to get vaccinated against the virus.