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Photo: CDC/Dr. Fred Murphy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health; public domain.
COVID Update | Jan. 13, 2022
- Published: January 13, 2022
• COVID-19 case numbers continue to be historically high, driven primarily by the more contagious Omicron variant, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoffer, director of the Ohio Department of Health, or ODH.
After a pandemic record high of 20,598 new cases reported Friday, Dec. 31, Ohio numbers fluctuated over the week of Sunday, Jan. 2, through Saturday, Jan. 8, moving from 18,813 new cases reported on the 2nd to 18,310 reported on the 8th, with the week’s high at 20,311 on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Comparatively, the seven-day running average — which offers a more consistent snapshot of the current situation by averaging newly reported daily cases from seven days in a row — reflects a steady rise in numbers since October, hitting 19,319 as of Saturday, Jan. 8. The highest seven-day average during the December/January surge a year ago was 12,529.
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• The state reported 2,813 new COVID-19 hospital admissions for the week of Jan. 2–8, compared to 2,072 new admissions the week before. Total hospitalizations across Ohio reached 6,717 as of Monday, Jan. 10.
• On Friday, Jan. 7, the state surpassed 30,000 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. The week of Jan. 2–8 logged 625 new COVID-related deaths, compared to 727 the week before and 692 the week before that.
• A frequently consulted measure is new case numbers per 100,000 residents, which represents a two-week average. The ODH reports updated figures each Thursday, and the latest report from Jan. 6 shows a continuing increase to a 1,818.8 average for the state, compared with 1,364.7 the week before.
• Greene County also saw a further rise in its per 100,000 figures, with a two-week average of 1,169.1 as of Jan. 6, compared to 677.2 per 100,000 residents as of Dec. 30. Greene County’s latest figures put it at 56th among Ohio’s 88 counties. Erie County, in the northeast part of the state, was at the top at 2,869.4 reported Jan. 6. Ten counties reported case averages of over 2,000 per 100,000 residents; and 63 surpassed 1,000. Holmes County, in the heart of Ohio’s Amish country, had the lowest average for the fourth week in a row, with 418.6, compared to 345.8 the week before. An average of 100 or more cases per 100,000 is considered a “high” incidence rate.
• The total number of new cases in Greene County for the week of Jan. 2–8 was 1,405, compared to 970 the week before and 549 the week before that. The most new cases in one day was reported Tuesday, Jan. 4, with 252 across the county. The 45387 ZIP code accounted for 45 of the new cases this past week.
• New hospital admissions in Greene County totaled 24 for the week of Jan. 2–8, compared to 16 the week before. The reported number of deaths in the county last week was four, compared to seven the week before and nine the week before that.
• In Yellow Springs, the public schools reported 13 positive cases as of Friday, Jan. 7, with seven among middle/high school students, four Mills Lawn students and two district staff. An additional 28 students were in quarantine, with 21 from the middle/high school and seven from Mills Lawn.
• Rapid home test kits remain limited in availability, but several area retail outlets are reporting new stock arriving this week. Per a new mandate from the Biden administration, private insurance companies and group health plans are now required to cover the cost of at-home, rapid COVID-19 test kits beginning Saturday, Jan. 15.
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