Ohio added 5,008 cases Friday for a total of 240,178, according to the Ohio Department of Health. There were 18,269 cases reported Tuesday through Friday.
That record came as Butler County saw a one-day increase of 196 cases to 10,667 on Friday. The county passed 10,000 cases in the past week, and cases rose 12% in the past week as local health officials continued to call for preventative measures.
In Butler County, there have been 135 deaths, although one new death was reported in the week ending Oct. 31, the most recent with data available. Butler County’s spike in deaths happened in late August and early September, when 10, nine and nine deaths were reported in the weeks ending Aug. 29, Sept. 5 and Sept. 12.
However, weekly hospitalizations hit a one-week high in the week ending Oct. 31, with 32.
Miami University students continue to be the largest section of Butler County cases, with 2,404 cases making up 26.2% of the county’s total.
Ohio also broke the record for hospitalizations reported in one day, with 231. The previous record was set on Oct. 20 with 216.
There have been 20,246 total hospitalizations in Ohio throughout the pandemic. As of Friday, 2,170 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals across the state and 547 were in the ICU. In southwest Ohio, there were 587 hospital patients and 149 in the ICU, according to the ODH.
Twenty-two ICU admissions were added to Ohio’s total Friday, bringing it to 3,991.
Deaths increased by 33 for a total of 5,494.
On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that Stephanie McCloud would be Ohio’s next health director. Dr. Amy Acton previously served as the director, helping the state through the early months of the pandemic before resigning in June.
The governor previously tried to fill the position in early September, announcing Dr. Joan Duwve as the new director. However, hours after the announcement DeWine said the Duwve had withdrawn her name from consideration, citing personal reasons.
Lance Himes has served as interim director and will now be the ODH senior deputy. His role will focus on coordinating the release of a COVID-19 vaccine once its available.
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