By 1808Delaware
Ohio and Delaware County got a double dose of encouraging news on Thursday concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
For one thing, the weekly reported numbers of new cases for students and staff in local schools continued its drop, powered by increased teacher vaccinations and ongoing safety guidelines.
Six Delaware County schools shared news of 30 new infections, which number included 28 students and 2 staff in the following locations:
- Big Walnut — 6 students, 1 staff
- DACC — 2 students
- Delaware City — 3 students
- Olentangy — 15 students
- St. Mary — 1 student
- St. Paul — 1 student, 1 staff
A week ago, there were 51 new school-related cases.
On Thursday evening, Governor DeWine shared his plan for the removal of health orders in Ohio related to COVID-19. As has been typical for such measures, removal is tied to a benchmark that must be met for a set period of time.
In specific, that would be 50 cases per 100,000 people in a period which lasts for two consecutive weeks. On March 3, that number was 179 cases, down from 445 on February 3.
“Ohio we must run through the tape at the end of this race,” DeWine said. “Our path back is by each of us getting vaccinated when we can, and by each of us wearing masks in public.”
The vaccine rollout has also played a part, the Governor said. As of Thursday, Ohio had vaccinated more than 1.8 million people across the state.
