01/17/2022

COVID-19 Update: 19,538 New Cases Reported Today

Jan. 17, 2022

Today, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported 19,538 new cases of COVID-19 and 165 new hospitalizations. The agency did not report any additional deaths.

ODH said the increased figure is a result of a multiple-day backlog of tens of thousands of results. The backlog comes as the omicron variant drives Ohio case numbers to reach all-time highs.

Omicron is now the dominant variant in the state, according to ODH; the agency data, collected between Dec. 18, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022, indicate omicron comprises 74.24 percent of all cases in Ohio with delta accounting for 24.83 percent. Governor Mike DeWine recently said COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their highest levels of the pandemic. Ohio's health officials expect to see the omicron variant become dominant throughout the state. After several weeks, cases finally are starting to decline in northeast Ohio.

ODH also reported 2,403,645 confirmed cases, 30,922 deaths and 102,294 hospitalizations. The agency also reported 1,932,132 presumed recoveries and indicated approximately 7,108,819 Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine. This figure represents nearly 61 percent of Ohioans - a low figure compared to numbers nationwide.