COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio health officials said declining COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations give “renewed hope,” while reminding residents that hospitals are still very busy with virus patients.
What You Need To Know
- COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remain high, but officials believe they have peaked
- Southern regions of the state will get additional support from the Ohio National Guard
- Officials recommended wearing a mask, keeping distance and getting vaccinated
“Thankfully, we are seeing many signs of improvement in some of Ohio's first and hardest hit areas during this historic and record-shattering surge in COVID-19 cases – the surge which of course has been fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant,” Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said during a news conference Thursday.
Officials believe hospitalizations peaked on Jan. 10 at an all-time high of 6,749. As of the latest update, 5,887 patients were hospitalized, representing a 12.8% decline over the last 10 days. In the Cleveland area, hospitalizations have declined about 24% in the last week, officials said.
“The signs of a downturn that we're seeing in some parts of the state, especially those that have recently been so severely impacted by COVID-19, do bring us renewed hope, but the reality is that many other parts of our state are still on the rise of this omicron tidal wave,” Vanderhoff said.
As the situation improves in northeast Ohio, officials said resources are being shifted to the Dayton and Cincinnati areas, as well as other southern parts of the state.
Ohio Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr. said the Ohio National Guard is in the process of disengaging about 400 service members from the Cleveland area, relocating them to southern Ohio hospitals.
Dr. Roberto Colon, chief medical officer at Miami Valley Hospital, said the hospital has not seen significant declines in patient numbers.
“Things continue in our Dayton area to be very critical and tremendously stressful. The pace of new cases have really not slowed down like we have seen in other areas and that continues to lead to significant numbers of hospitalizations. It is tremendously taxing to our staff, our physicians and our nurses,” he said.
Colon said the Ohio National Guard recently began assisting Miami Valley Hospital in non-clinical roles, while other members of the Guard are also supporting outpatient testing sites.
Dr. Alice Kim, medical director for medical operations at the Cleveland Clinic, said it could take some time for virus numbers to drop to a level where hospitals are no longer strained. She asked residents to wear a mask, keep distance and get vaccinated.
“We are not out of it yet. We are again very hopeful with the declining numbers, but our best armor is really getting vaccinated and it's not only you getting vaccinated, but really helping your loved ones understand the importance of that," she said.