Delaware Stays Red; Case Increases, Hospital Admissions Down

By 1808Delaware

The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases, statewide and locally, was borne out in numbers released on Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health.

Delaware County, however, remained on “Red” (Level 3) under the State of Ohio’s Public Health Advisory System.

Across Ohio, 8,921 cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, the fifth highest reported single day increase since the pandemic began. This brings the state’s total to 446,849 individual COVID-19 cases. 6,753 Ohioans have now died, an increase of 82 since Wednesday.

Alarmingly, while the state’s hospitals are nearing capacity, the positive testing rate has reached 15%, something referred to as a “wake up call” by ODH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff.

Eight counties — Summit, Portage, Stark, Medina, Montgomery, Lorain, Richland, and Lake — were put on the“Purple” level, the highest possible status in terms of pandemic severity. Each county triggered all of the Advisory System’s indicators.

Delaware County’s current levels, reported by the Ohio Department of Health, can be viewed by clicking the image below. It should be noted that the county triggered all but two of the state’s Public Health Advisory System indicators — new case increases and hospital admissions.