Omicron wave: What Greater Cincinnati residents told us about how they're handling COVID-19 now

People line up in their cars and wait for a drive-thru COVID-19 test, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, at the Gravity Diagnostics COVID-19 testing site in Covington, Ky. The latest wave of the pandemic, fueled by the omicron variant, continues to push hospital and testing capacity.
People line up in their cars and wait for a drive-thru COVID-19 test, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, at the Gravity Diagnostics COVID-19 testing site in Covington, Ky. The latest wave of the pandemic, fueled by the omicron variant, continues to push hospital and testing capacity.

Last week The Enquirer asked Greater Cincinnati residents to tell us how they're handling the latest record-setting wave of COVID-19 cases.

Boy, did you tell us. Nearly 500 people took our nonscientific poll. Scores took the time to offer additional thoughts.

The result? We're divided – fairly evenly.

The rise in coronavirus cases caused by the omicron variant has yet to show any signs of leveling off in Greater Cincinnati. Hamilton County reported 17,112 cases and 15 deaths in the week ending Sunday, an increase of 33.5% in new cases. A week earlier, the county had reported 12,815 cases and two deaths. Cases were also up in neighboring counties for the virus that causes COVID-19.

At the same time, unlike in the early days of the pandemic, most businesses remain open and masks are not mandated by most governments. The majority of Ohioans and Kentuckians are now vaccinated.

Here's how you responded to the questions

The latest COVID-19 wave has prompted me to ...

  • Go out, but cautiously – masked and staying physically distant: 37%

  • Do nothing to limit myself. I'm going about my normal life: 34%

  • Stay in as much as I can and limit in-person interactions: 29%

I am comfortable dining inside a restaurant

  • Yes: 55%

  • No: 45%

I'll be watching the Bengals game this Saturday...

  • Alone at home to be safe: 56%

  • With friends or family at someone's house: 31%

  • At a bar or restaurant: 13%

What else would you like to tell us about how you're handling this latest COVID-19 wave?

  • I'm angry with the unvaccinated, and FURIOUS with our GOP legislators that passed laws discouraging vaccination and even banning masking!

  • Ignore the media. Go live your life.

  • If I do need to leave the house, I am wearing a KN-95 mask.

  • For the most part the latest version of the virus is more like a mild flu or a common cold. LIVE YOUR LIFE!

  • Over it

  • going outside to exercise as much as possible. staying away from elderly mom for a while. got new k95 masks for family for when I go grocery shopping.

  • Just had it AGAIN, after three shots. Like a mild cold for a few days. Contrary to what some politician from Washington tells us, this is not only about the unvaccinated. Gotta just move on and learn to live with this. But it does appear that vaccinations really do help. If you choose not to get vaccinated, tough. PS - I’ll be AT the Bengals game with 68,000 maskless fans learning to live with it.

  • For me, the inconsistency, our rush to reopen, has caused this on/off uncertainty. It’s very disruptive for everyone, especially kids and parents. Kids need consistency. They can deal with that better than what we’ve been doing. Better to err on the side of caution.

  • Trying not to live like a moron. Masking up, social distancing, staying away from unvaccinated people, not eating out, no vacationing or nonessential travel and respecting other people.

  • I haven’t missed a beat since this debacle started.

  • I'm exhausted and miserable and if that's how bad I feel, I can't imagine how those with children feel.

  • Only leaving the house once a week for groceries.

  • This is a mild strain. Governments are over-reacting. I've been doing my best to get on with my life since we "flattened the curve" in April of 2020. It's time to stop mandates, masking, school closures, and get on with our lives. C19 is endemic – it's here to stay. Move on!

  • No differently as the others after I received the vaccination and booster.

  • I only go inside an establishment for an emergency because most people and workers don't wear masks or maintain social distance.

  • I'm in good health with no pre-existing conditions, but I am over 75. Consequently, I'm being very cautious. We are not even dining with our unvaccinated kids and grandkids as long as this wave is with us.

  • I know at least a dozen friends who currently have covid with varying symptoms. None require any hospitalization. 2 with a sore throat, 1 with a bad headache and others with cough and sinus infection. All symptoms we have all had in our lifetime.

  • I realized how deeply this pandemic is ingrained in my everyday living when I was as excited to be in CVS when they had just gotten in testing kits as if I'd just won the lottery! It's a challenge for me not to let frustrations ruin my daily life, knowing kids could be back to vital in school learning, hospitals wouldn't be over burdened, and we wouldn't have to live in constant fear, if so many people didn't have invalid or uneducated reasons for not getting vaccinated. I've been living with a serious health issue for years and this pandemic has peeled back a layer of selfishness in society that I never thought to would see in the U.S. So how am I doing? Not sleeping well, but getting vaccinated, boosted and praying often!

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: COVID-19: How Cincinnati is handling omicron variant virus surge