New Ohio coronavirus cases cap off a week of slowing growth
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The growth of new coronavirus cases in Ohio has shown signs of slowing throughout the week after surging by more than 1,000 new cases per day last weekend.
As of Friday afternoon, there are 14,581 confirmed cases of the virus in the state, a number which increases to 15,169 when using the expanded definition by the CDC that also includes rapid tests and those who are showing symptoms and are known contacts of confirmed coronavirus patients.
The confirmed cases represent an increase of 439 from Thursday.
The number of confirmed deaths in the state is now up to 649.
The slowed growth in cases comes as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine prepares to lay out plans for how to restart some businesses in the state that have been shuttered for more than a month due to a "stay at home" order designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Since mid-March, the governor has closed down bars, restaurants, schools and all businesses deemed nonessential, as well as limiting the number of people who can gather in one place at one time, even in essential businesses such as grocery stores.
Those efforts have seen projections for the growth of the coronavirus revised downward from earlier numbers in excess of 10,000 cases per day.
Health officials such as Dr. Amy Acton have pointed to those efforts as having been crucial in order to preserve hospital capacity and protect healthcare workers.
Locally, the number of new cases in Mahoning county rose by 18 since Thursday.
Last week, the average number of new cases per day in the county was 20, but this week only saw one day with increases that high, with the rest falling into the teens.
The number of deaths in the county is up to 65, an increase of three since Thursday. At one point, Mahoning County had led the state in the number of deaths, but has since slowed.
One trend that remains steady is that the majority of cases in Mahoning county are women, but the majority of serious cases that involve either hospitalization or death are men.
The vast majority, 98 percent, of those who've died have had underlying health conditions and nearly half, 49 percent, have been residents of longterm care facilities.
The latest death linked to the coronavirus in Columbiana County was a resident of a long-term care facility according to health officials.
The county health department on Thursday reported that the number of local deaths had reached 17. However, it was not until Friday that health officials revealed that the victim was an 88-year-old man from a long-term health care facility. The man had underlying health conditions, according to the health department.
The facility was not named by the county health department.
On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health reported that Salem West Nursing Home has had sixteen confirmed cases of coronavirus among residents, as well as one staff member since April 15.
The cases were among 200 others at 19 long-term care facilities in the Valley named in an Ohio Health Department web page.
Columbiana health officials reported an additional nine positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 213 since the start of the outbreak.
Twenty of those cases are linked to long-term care facilities. Sixty-two others are from the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution, which has reported the death of five inmates.
In Trumbull county, there are 278 cases, with 23 deaths.
