Ohio surpasses 2 million total COVID cases, sets two new records

Ohio surpassed 2 million cases of COVID-19 on the last day of 2021, with 2,016,095 total cases recorded during the pandemic, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

More than 1,315,715 cases have been recorded in the state in 2021.

The state set another record for daily cases, reporting 20,598 on Friday. The previous record was 20,320 daily cases on Wednesday. Ohio is averaging 11,797 cases a day over the last 21 days, according to the state health department. A year ago, on Dec. 31, 2020, the state’s 21-day average was 8,025 cases.

Due to the high number of cases being reported during this surge, not all of the cases reported in the last day may have been processed, according to a messaged posted on the COVID-19 Key Indicators dashboard. Cases will continue to be attributed to their proper illness onset date.

Ohio has recorded 29,406 total COVID deaths in the state and 29,447 total COVID Ohio resident deaths, according to ODH. The state added 667 deaths on Friday, the most reported in three weeks.

Death data can fluctuate because other states don’t regularly reported death certificate data to Ohio’s Bureau of Vital Statistics. The day a death is reported does not reflect the day a death occurred.

For the third straight day, Ohio set a new record for COVID patients hospitalized in the state.

There were 5,601 COVID patients hospitalized in Ohio Friday, with 1,240 in the ICU and 770 on ventilators, according to ODH. The previous highs were 5,469 COVID inpatients on Thursday and 5,356 COVID patients on Wednesday.

One in four people hospitalized in Ohio and one in three ICU patients have coronavirus, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. The number of COVID inpatients has increased 21% in the last week and 23% in three weeks. The state’s COVID ICU admissions are up 3% over the past week and 7% in the last week three weeks.

Compared to 60 days ago, the number of COVID patients hospitalized in Ohio is up 140% and ICU patients have increased by 83%, according to OHA.

The state recorded 250 COVID hospitalizations and 19 ICU admissions in the last day, according to the state health department. Ohio is averaging 320 hospitalizations a day and 30 ICU admissions a day in the last 21 days.

As of Wednesday, 48,399 people hospitalized with COVID and 14,458 people who died with COVID in Ohio were not fully vaccinated, according to ODH. Among the fully vaccinated, Ohio has reported 2,853 COVID hospitalizations and 701 COVID deaths this year.

Nearly 60% of Ohioans have started the COVDI vaccine, including 70.09% of adults and 63.61% of people 5 and older, according to the state health department. More than 55% of residents, including 65.04% of adults and 58.53% of those 5 and older, have finished the vaccine.

Nearly 7 million Ohioans have received at lease one dose of the vaccine and 6.43 have completed the series, according to ODH. More than 2.7 million residents have received an additional vaccine dose, including 34,235 people in the last day.

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