Ohio's coronavirus case rate continues to drop. 

On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health said this week's case rate per 100,000 residents for a 14-day period has declined to 140.2. It's the third continuous week of decline since a recent high of 200 on April 15, 2021.

Health officials say the current case rate of 140.2 is now slightly lower than it was in mid-March 2021 before cases briefly rebounded. Compared to the entire span of the pandemic, the current case rate is now the lowest it has been since mid-October 2020.

Previously, Gov. Mike DeWine said he would lift COVID-19 restrictions when cases get down to a rate of 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks.

As part of Thursday's update, the state reported 1,387 new COVID-19 cases, which is below the three-week average of 1,524. Hospitalizations were up by 127 (118 average), and ICU admissions were up by 15 (14 average).

When it comes to vaccination efforts, 34.25% of Ohio's population has been fully vaccinated.