OHIO — COVID-19 cases among staff in Ohio schools have declined since teachers got vaccinated, but 804 new student infections were reported on March 18. 

According to the Spectrum News 1 tracker, 43,078 students have been infected and 23,552 staff. The weekly update showed 181 staff infections, which marks a significant decline from early winter peaks when more than 1,500 weekly infections were reported among staff.

This week, Cincinnati Public Schools became the first Ohio district to hit 1,000 total infections among students and staff, after 42 more students and three more staff members contracted the virus, bringing the total to 1,041.

With only a couple exceptions, Ohio’s K-12 schools have returned to full in-person learning or hybrid instruction. The state’s vaccination campaign began at the end of January and most teachers have now had the chance to get their second shots. 

After a downward trend in February, COVID-19 cases have risen in Ohio’s schools in March as more students go back to school in-person. The numbers are down slightly since last week’s elevated report of 949 student cases and 240 staff cases. 

Spectrum’s tracker shows infections reported as “new” by the Ohio Department of Health. The agency also adds cases each week that are older infections. These cases are included in the tracker’s cumulative totals, but not included in the weekly numbers.