COVID-19 infection rates in Ohio continued to descend Monday, as they have for roughly six weeks and counting.
At October’s end, an average of roughly 2,700 Ohioans were contracting COVID-19 per day, as compared to nearly 7,200 in mid-September or more than 10,000 daily in December 2020, according to data from the state health department.
Several other key health indicators tell a similar story: The pandemic continues to rage, but the situation is improving.
About 2,400 Ohioans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. This is down from 3,700 in late September and nearly 5,200 in mid-December.
In mid-October, roughly 50 Ohioans died of COVID-19 per day on average. Again, this is down from 80 per day in late September and nearly 200 per day in late December.
However, the trend isn’t guaranteed to continue. Colder weather, breakthrough infections, and new variants could all sap away at recent progress, according to Mark Cameron, an immunologist at Case Western Reserve University. Holiday social interactions and a looming flu season could pose risks as well.
The downside: Ohio remains the 10th least vaccinated state in the nation and uptake continues to slow. Nearly 56% of residents of all ages are vaccinated, compared to a national rate of 66%.
An average of 5,000 Ohioans per day are receiving their first doses.
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Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
Redistricting commission saw maps before deadline, some sought compromise
In statements connected to lawsuits challenging Ohio’s recently approved legislative redistricting maps, GOP and Democratic mapmakers laid out the process of drawing legislative maps, including which legislative leaders and redistricting commission members met with them along the way.
Ray DiRossi, Blake Springhetti and Christopher Glassburn all gave hours-long depositions as part of three lawsuits challenging the legislative redistricting maps approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission in September.
DiRossi and Springhetti were both recruited to work for the Republican side as census data was received and negotiations began to create new state legislative district lines. DiRossi is the budget director for the Ohio Senate Republican Caucus, while Springhetti is the Director of Finance for the Ohio House of Representatives.
Glassburn, who has held previous positions within the Statehouse, was hired by the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus via the government consulting business Project Govern, to be the predominant map-drawer for the Dems. READ MORE
