By 1808Delaware
When the Ohio Public Health Advisory System was updated on Thursday afternoon, Delaware County found itself in a very familiar place.
A place, in fact, which is occupied by 83 other counties in Ohio.
Meeting only two indicators, that being that of new COVID-19 cases per capita and the seven day average of new cases, the county was at “Red” or “Level Three” for another week. There have been 1,718 new cases in the preceding two weeks, representing a total of 821.31 cases per 100,000 population.
Of the other indicators, the number of non-congregate cases, outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and number of hospitalizations all decreased. The number of ICU beds in use remained relatively constant.
Four counties in southeast Ohio were labeled as “Orange” or “Level 2,” while all others joined Delaware at the Red Level.
The number of cases in Delaware County schools increased somewhat, largely due to reported numbers from Clear Fork Schools. Numbers shared by districts and individual schools were as follows:
- Big Walnut — 5 students, 1 staff
- Buckeye Valley — 2 students
- DACC — 2 students
- Delaware City — 3 students, 2 staff
- Olentangy — 11 students, 11 staff
- St. Paul — 4 students, 1 staff
This represents a total of 42 new cases — 27 students and 15 staff. On December 24, the last date of reported school numbers, Delaware County schools had a total of 102 cases.
