Ohio hits more than 3,200 new COVID cases, most since February

State records more than 200 daily hospitalizations for first time in three weeks.

After five days of declining coronavirus cases, Ohio’s daily count surpassed 3,000 again Tuesday.

The state recorded 3,235 cases in the last day, according to the Ohio Department of Health. It’s the third time this month Ohio’s daily cases exceeded 3,000.

It is the highest number of new cases since February, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

“The spread of the delta variant has dramatically accelerated since we last held a public briefing 10 days ago,” DeWine said. “We are at the highest number of new cases since February.”

Ohio’s 21-day case average increased to 1,945 cases a day. In the last week, the state is averaging approximately 2,697 cases a day.

The state reported more than 200 hospitalizations in a day for the first time in more than weeks.

Ohio recorded 220 hospitalizations Tuesday, bringing its total to 63,571, according to ODH. The state’s previous 21-day high was 159 hospitalizations reported on Aug. 10.

“Today there are 1,571 of our fellow citizens hospitalized in Ohio with COVID-19. This is the highest since last February,” DeWine said. “Additionally, there are 464 people in ICUs in Ohio with COVID. This is the highest number, again, since February.”

In the last three weeks Ohio is averaging 90 hospitalizations a day. Daily hospitalizations have exceeded 100 eight times in the past three weeks.

As of Tuesday, there were 1,575 COVID-19 patients in Ohio’s hospitals, according to ODH. They make up 5.8% of the state’s hospital beds, with 25% of beds available.

Ohio’s ICUs had 466 COVID patients, accounting for 9.66% of beds. About 28% of the state’s ICU beds are open.

Ohio reported 18 ICU admissions, double its 21-day average of nine.

The state added 34 deaths Tuesday, bringing its total to 20,648, according to ODH.

Death data can fluctuate because other states do not regularly report death certificate information to Ohio’s Bureau of Vital Statistics. The day a death is reported does not reflect the date the death happened.

This year, 6,910 people who died of COVID-19 in Ohio were not fully vaccinated, according to ODH. Fully-vaccinated people made up 67 deaths in the state this year.

As of Tuesday, 50.78% of Ohioans have started the coronavirus vaccine, with 59.35% of the state’s population 12 and older receiving at least one shot.

In the last day, more than 11,000 people in the state received their first dose, according to ODH.

Nearly 47% of Ohio’s population has completed the vaccine. Of those 12 and older, 54.9% have finished their inoculation.

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