On April 15, Governor Mike DeWine announced that more than 36% of Ohioans have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine; however, Ohio’s statewide case incidence number has reached 200 cases per 100,000 people as compared to 144 cases per 100,000 people four weeks ago. There are currently more than 1,300 COVID-positive patients in Ohio’s hospitals.
“What we’re seeing in Ohio is a strong variant that is multiplying very quickly and is more contagious than the virus we’ve seen in the past, but we have hope, and hope is the vaccine,” said Gov. DeWine. “Vaccination is how we get out of this.”
The majority of the counties with the highest incidence of cases in Ohio are in the northern region of the state which is seeing a high level of variant cases. Lucas County is currently seeing the highest occurrence of cases with 341.1 cases per 100,000 county residents.
Franklin County increased to Alert Level 4 (purple) on Ohio Public Health Advisory System due to a sustained increase in COVID-related emergency room visits, outpatient visits, and hospital admissions.