COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Although coronavirus cases are decreasing in Ohio, the state passed another significant milestone – 1.5 million cases – in a pandemic that is on pace to eclipse two full years in the winter.
The Ohio Department of Health has reported 1,503,102 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, ranking America’s seventh-most populous state eighth in cases.
Of those cases, 1,221,302 (81%) are “confirmed,” meaning the result of a positive test, while 281,800 cases (19%) are “probable,” meaning the patient’s diagnosis was consistent with COVID-19.
The good news is that new cases in the Buckeye State continue to decrease as it and most of the nation come off a peak in a wave driven by the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.
Cases reported to ODH saw their fourth consecutive week of decline last Monday-Sunday, down below 30,000 per week for the first time since August.
It also took Ohio a longer time to reach its last 100,000 cases than other hundred-thousand milestones in the Delta wave. The state went from 1.4 million to 1.5 million cases in 22 days, which is the sixth-longest period to notch 100,000 cases and longer than the previous two periods:
| Cases milestone | Date hit | Days between | Rank (of 15) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | Aug. 1, 2020 | 212 days | 1st |
| 200,000 | Oct. 20, 2020 | 80 days | 3rd |
| 300,000 | Nov. 10, 2020 | 21 days | 7th |
| 400,000 | Nov. 21, 2020 | 11 days | T-13th |
| 500,000 | Dec. 2, 2020 | 11 days | T-13th |
| 600,000 | Dec. 13, 2020 | 11 days | T-13th |
| 700,000 | Dec. 27, 2020 | 14 days | 11th |
| 800,000 | Jan. 8 | 12 days | 12th |
| 900,000 | Jan. 27 | 19 days | 8th |
| 1 million | March 16 | 48 days | 5th |
| 1.1 million | May 20 | 65 days | 4th |
| 1.2 million | Aug. 24 | 96 days | 2nd |
| 1.3 million | Sep. 9 | 16 days | T-9th |
| 1.4 million | Sep. 25 | 16 days | T-9th |
| 1.5 million | Oct. 17 | 22 days | 6th |
Ohio’s 21-day average of new cases dropped Tuesday for the ninth straight day and the 23rd day in 25 days. The 2,810 cases reported Monday and 3,617 reported Tuesday were the fewest on those days of the week since the second half of August.
Vaccinations have slowed since August, but more than 64% of eligible Ohioans (age 12+) have at least started vaccination, according to ODH, and nearly 60% have completed their shots.
Ohio, however, ranks 41st of 50 states in that first metric, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and trails the national percentage of 77.1%.
