COVID cases continue to rise despite vaccination efforts

COLUMBUS- Cases of COVID19 remain high throughout Ohio, Governor Mike Dewine reported during his regular briefing held on Thursday afternoon.

COVID-19 cases in Ohio have continued to rise as Dewine reported there were over 2,000 new cases reported over the last 24 hours.

“Cases are still up above 2,000 which is where we certainly don’t want to see them. They have gone up significantly in the last few weeks. Our hospitalizations were significantly above the 21 day average and the same way with ICU admissions,” Dewine said.

The data reported showed 2,164 new cases reported over the last 24 hours with 181 new hospitalizations over the last 24 hours. In addition, there were 31 new ICU admissions over the last 24 hours. In total, the state currently has more than 1,300 COVID positive patients in Ohio’s hospitals.

Dewine explained that level of hospitalizations hasn’t been seen in Ohio in more than a month.

Regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, Ohioans are being active in getting their doses completed.

“One thing we have been seeing is more people getting their second dose than their first dose in the last week. We are now at 36.4 percent of Ohioans who have gotten the vaccine,” Dewine said.

In total, about 4.2 million Ohioans have received the vaccine. Those who have received the vaccine by age groups are as follows: 0-19: 3.8 percent; 20-29: 24.59 percent; 30-39: 32.01 percent; 40-49: 39.39 percent; 50-59: 48.48 percent; 60-64: 60.60 percent; 65-69: 71.36 percent; 70-74: 77