COLUMBUS, Ohio — COVID-19 case reports in Ohio will be inflated for three days as the state adds 7,699 positive test results from a backlog, officials said Tuesday.
What You Need To Know
- The backlog is a result of reporting errors from two labs, officials said
- The cases date back to March 7, according to the Ohio Department of Health
- Ohio is reporting 7,301 COVID-19 cases per day as of the latest update
The Ohio Department of Health said “manual reporting errors” at two laboratories created the issue.
“The backlog includes both new cases and updated information for cases that were previously recorded,” officials said in a statement.
Cases will be artificially high from Tuesday to Thursday while the health department resolves the backlog.
As of the latest update Monday, Ohio’s seven-day average cases were at 7,301. On Tuesday, 4,758 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 and 1,172 were being treated in intensive care units.
The positive tests that will be added date from March 7 to Dec. 3. The cases will be assigned to the date of illness onset, but the 24-hour daily case change will be higher for three days.
The state said it is adding a disclaimer to its COVID-19 dashboard, and reported that the issue with the labs is resolved.