On a week-to-week basis, the week from June 30 to July 7 had the fewest new cases the county has recorded since mid-April.
However, one week of lower cases isn’t enough to buck the trend of the slowly rising COVID spread after a very low-volume spring.
Erik Balster, the health commissioner for the Butler County General Health District, said the county has seen a “slow but steady” rise in COVID cases, like many other parts of southwest Ohio.
The Ohio Hospital Association, which tracks the hospitalization trends in southwest Ohio, shows that the region has seen a 121 percent increase in COVID-related inpatient hospitalizations in the past 60 days, as well as a 280 percent increase in COVID patients in the ICU.
In Butler, Warren, Hamilton, Adams, Brown, Clermont and Clinton counties, there are currently 19 ICU hospitalizations and another 128 inpatient hospitalizations.
At the time of reporting, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention still shows Butler County with a low COVID community level, along with Hamilton County. Adjacent counties Warren, Preble and Montgomery have a medium COVID community level.
Cases are generally trending upward in the rest of the state, too.
Last week, Ohio recorded 18,838 COVID-19 cases. That’s slightly higher than the average of 17,407 over the past three weeks, and six times higher than the 3,103 in a week that was reported three months ago.
Balster said the health department recommends residents stay up to date on vaccines and consult with their primary care physician for any questions about the timing of such measures. He said the health department is encouraging personal responsibility as a way of minimizing COVID cases.
“If you’re feeling ill or sick, there’s more than enough tests to go around, free of course through us and other health departments,” he said. “If you’re not feeling good, you can eliminate some of these increasing (COVID) numbers by just staying home, much like you could with flu or any other illness.”
