COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,301 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, continuing a nearly three-week trend of increasing case numbers that is now also reflected in hospitalizations.
Recently reported cases brought the total to 54,166 known cases since the first three were confirmed on March 9. Thursday marked the third highest total in a single day, surpassed by just two days of intensive prison testing from April 19 to 20.
The seven-day moving average for new cases reported is now 931 per day, the highest level to date. This average dropped to 381 on June 12 before starting the climb.
The state also reported Thursday that 2,903 people died of the coronavirus, up from 27 in Wednesday’s report, and 8,038 were hospitalized, up from 7,911. However, reporting of deaths is often delayed by a week or more, rather than reflecting deaths in the past 24 hours.
The number of hospitalized patients at one point increased by 127 in Thursday’s report. Total hospitalizations to date are 8,038.
The health department first reported the number of “suspected recovered”, putting that estimate at 38,987. This is the number of cases that are at least three weeks old and do not involve deceased persons. Subtracting the deaths, that leaves approximately 12,276 cases remaining.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Governor Mike DeWine launched a new coronavirus alert classification system to highlight areas of particular concern. Seven counties were placed in the red alert category due to major concerns: Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery, and Trumbull.
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