Fewer than 150 hospitalized in area for first time since August

The region had fewer than 150 COVID-19 patients hospitalized for the first time in approximately six months.

Tuesday, 148 patients with the virus were hospitalized in west central Ohio — which includes Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Shelby counties, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. It’s the fewest number of COVID patients the region has reported since mid-August.

Statewide, 1,450 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus as of Tuesday, including 316 in southwest Ohio. Southwest Ohio includes Butler, Warren, Hamilton, Adams, Brown, Clermont and Clinton counties.

The news was not as positive regarding coronavirus deaths. Ohio reported 774 COVID deaths Tuesday, bringing its total to 36,267 since the pandemic began, according to the state health department. It’s the highest number of deaths reported in the past three weeks.

Since the omicron wave of COVID cases and hospitalizations peaked around the New Year’s holiday, Ohio has continued to report a decrease in the virus.

In the past 60 days the number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus has dropped by 69% in the state, according to OHA. West central and southwest have recorded a slightly slower decline, with a 61% and 49% decrease reported respectively during the same time period.

About one in 15 hospital patients in west central Ohio have COVID, and one in 10 hospitalized patients in southwest Ohio have the virus.

Of the 286 COVID patients in Ohio’s ICUs on Tuesday, 28 were in west central Ohio and 71 were in southwest Ohio. Over the last 60 days west central Ohio recorded a 68% decrease in ICU patients with coronavirus and southwest Ohio reported a 59% drop. Overall, Ohio saw a 76% decline in ICU patients with the virus compared to 60 days ago, according to OHA.

The state added 24 coronavirus ICU admissions and 124 hospitalizations in the last day, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Ohio’s 21-day average is 18 ICU admissions a day and 180 hospitalizations a day.

Regarding the 744 deaths announced Tuesday, the state updates death data twice a week. The data can fluctuate because other states don’t regularly report death certificate information to Ohio’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.

The day a death is reported does not reflect the day the death occurred.

Officials have said throughout the pandemic that deaths are a lagging indicator, meaning they tend to slow down weeks after cases peak.

Tuesday marked the fourth day in a row Ohio reported fewer than 2,000 daily COVID-19 cases. The stated recorded 1,369 cases in the last day and is averaging 2,864 cases in the past three weeks.

In five out of the last seven days Ohio has reported fewer than 2,000 daily cases.