Covid-19 has seen increases across the country, which includes Highland County, since the lows of summer when the pandemic seems a distant memory.
According to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), Highland County’s case rate has increased significantly since mid-July, having gone up by more than double its number in around three weeks’ time.
On Aug. 1, 2024, the last time Ohio and the 88 counties had their case rates updates, Highland County’s case rate was at 64.9 for a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before that date, the 52nd-highest in the state. The county had 28 cases total in that time. Ohio also had a total average case rate of 83.9.
Prior to that, on July 25, 2024, Highland County had a case rate of 57.9 for a population of 100,000 with 25 cases during that time, and Ohio also had an overall case rate of 67.5. Highland County was 40th in the state. On July 18, 2024, the county had a case rate of 39.4 for a population of 100,000 and 17 total cases reported, with an overall Ohio case rate of 55.4. On July 11, 2024, Highland County had a case rate of 25.5 per a population of 100,000 from 11 cases, with an Ohio case rate of 42.7.
ODH also reported multiple other statistics that show Covid-19’s increase in Ohio as a whole, with all of these statistics having been last updated on Aug. 1, 2024.
From the week of July 12, 2024, through July 18, 2024, there was a seven-day case increase of 3,896, with that seven-day increase going up significantly. For the week of July 19, 2024, through July 25, 2024, there was a seven-day increase of 4,575 cases and then a seven-day increase of 5,962 Covid-19 cases for the week of July 26, 2024, through Aug. 1, 2024.
In terms of Ohio hospitalizations, those have increased less substantially, but still have gone up. For the week of July 12, 2024, through July 18, 2024, ODH reported that there were 124 hospitalizations, which then went down during the week of July 19, 2024, through July 25, 2024, when there were 115 hospitalizations. However, that has since gone up again past the first number to 141 hospitalizations for the week of July 26, 2024, through Aug. 1, 2024.
Deaths have also increased during the same period. For the week of July 12, 2024, through July 18, 2024, there were 10 reported deaths due to Covid-19. Then, that number went up for the week of July 19, 2024, through July 25, 2024, when there were 14 deaths. It then went up again the following week of July 26, 2024, through Aug. 1, 2024, to 18 deaths.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Covid Data Center, Ohio’s test positivity went up for the week through July 27, 2024, to 15.5 percent, an increase of 1.8 percent from the prior week.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
