Hospital stays up in Lake County

Vaccinations continue, health district reports

The Lake County General Health District’s latest data report shows there were 1,146 newly reported novel coronavirus cases and 35 new related hospitalizations reported between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12.

The 35 new COVID-19 hospitalizations is the second-most that have been reported in a single week, but is far off from the record of 72 set between Dec. 8 and Dec. 15. The county twice previously reported 34 hospitalizations in a week. The 35 hospitalizations reported this past week are up from 22 reported the week prior.

Lake County has 540 cumulative COVID-19 hospitalizations as of 2 p.m. Jan. 12.

The average age of the Lake County resident hospitalized due to the virus is 66 years old.

According to the data report, 52 percent of those hospitalized in the county have known pre-existing conditions. The 540 cumulative hospitalizations represent about 4 percent of the county’s total COVID-19 cases.

The county has 79 cumulative ICU admissions. Six of those ICU admissions were reported in the past week.

Lake County had 14,619 cumulative COVID-19 cases as of 2 p.m. Jan. 12. The 1,146 cases reported between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12 are up from 1,045 new cases reported the week prior.

Ohio Department of Health data shows that of that total 11,768 are presumed recovered. ODH defines presumed recovered as those with a symptom onset date greater than 21 days prior who are not deceased.

Three new COVID-19 deaths were reported between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12, bringing the county’s cumulative deaths to 126. Definitive cause of death can take weeks, even months to confirm, according to health officials.

The Lake County General Health District recently announced that residents who qualify for Phase 1B of the COVID-19 vaccination and are interested in receiving them are able to provide their names and contact information to be placed on a vaccination clinic scheduling list.

Those eligible for phase 1B include those who are 65 years of age or older and/or have severe congenital developmental or early-onset medical disorders.

Those who complete the form will then be contacted at a later date with instructions to schedule an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination at the appropriate time, according to the health district.

“To complete the form, residents should go to www. lcghd.org and click the button for COVID-19 Vaccine Information. The form is linked under the Phase 1B heading,” the health district stated. Vaccination clinics will be invitation-only in the early phases.”

Those who work in K-12 schools that return to inperson or hybrid learning by March 1 will be vaccinated in coordination with their school districts and should not complete the form, the health district stated.

“LCGHD is working with Signature Health and Lake Health to coordinate efforts to reach the most people most efficiently,” the health district stated.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that on Jan. 14, the Ohio Department of Health will launch a tool on coronavirus.ohio.gov to “assist citizens looking for a provider that has been allotted vaccines.”

“The tool will be searchable by zip code or county, but it will not be updated in real-time,” a news release from DeWine’s office stated. “It is critical that those eligible to receive a vaccine consult local sources to determine up-to-date vaccine availability.”

DeWine’s office also stated “senior citizens with questions on the vaccination process are urged to contact the Area Agencies on Aging at www.aging. ohio.gov or by calling 866243-5678.”

As of Jan. 12, ODH data shows there have been 6,566 COVID-19 vaccinations started in Lake County, representing 2.85 percent of its population. Statewide as of that date, there have been 321,506 started, representing 2.75 percent of Ohio’s population.