Ross County's COVID cases up 111.5%; Ohio cases surge 43.8%

Mike Stucka
·4 min read

New coronavirus cases leaped in Ohio in the week ending Sunday, rising 43.8% as 194,879 cases were reported. The previous week had 135,507 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Ohio ranked 22nd among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 3.51% of the country's population, Ohio had 3.58% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Ross County reported 1,887 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 892 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 16,052 cases and 249 deaths.

Pike County reported 712 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 262 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,107 cases and 86 deaths.

Within Ohio, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Athens County with 3,199 cases per 100,000 per week; Pike County with 2,564; and Ross County with 2,461. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Franklin County, with 24,506 cases; Hamilton County, with 17,112 cases; and Montgomery County, with 11,732. Weekly case counts rose in 83 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Montgomery, Franklin and Hamilton counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Ohio ranked 43rd among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 61.3% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Ohio reported administering another 292,851 vaccine doses, including 56,539 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 256,042 vaccine doses, including 49,567 first doses. In all, Ohio reported it has administered 16,419,073 total doses.

Across Ohio, cases fell in five counties, with the best declines in Cuyahoga County, with 10,493 cases from 12,411 a week earlier; in Summit County, with 6,311 cases from 6,650; and in Lake County, with 2,090 cases from 2,307.

In Ohio, 487 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 74 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,384,107 people in Ohio have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 30,922 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Ohio's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 9,589

  • The week before that: 9,631

  • Four weeks ago: 6,388

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221

  • The week before that: 185,954

  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.
A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Ross County COVID cases increased by 1,887 and deaths by two this week