Coronavirus in Ohio Thursday update: More than 3,400 new cases reported – NBC4 WCMH-TV

COLUMBUS (WCMH) The Ohio Department of Health has releasedthe latest number of COVID-19 casesin the state.

As of Aug. 19, a total of 1,171,557 (+3,446) cases has been reported since the start of the pandemic, leading to 63,915 (+170) hospitalizations and 8,649 (+10) ICU admissions.

The 21-day average stands at 2,140. Before Wednesday, the last time it was above 2,000 was March 4.

The Department of Health reported 34 deaths, bringing the total to 20,648. The state is updating the number only after death certificates have been processed, usually twice a week.

Just as our kids are back in school, the Delta variant is sweeping across the state, taking aim at those who are unvaccinated, DeWine said in opening a news conference, where he was joined by state health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff.

DeWine reiterated the Department of Healthsrecommendations for schools in the state, that masks be worn by students who cannot be vaccinated and staff members who are unvaccinated. Last school year, DeWine mandated masks in schools via health order, but his ability to issue those was curtailed by the General Assembly over the summer.

Instead, he appealed directly to parents the importance of mask-wearing, as school districts have the ability toset their own mask requirements. And he warned the alternative might be a return to remote and blended learning models used in the spring. He said mask-wearing is more important now than it was last school year, when the spread of COVID-19 was minimal, because the Delta variant is more contagious than earlier strands.

Last weeks 17,429 new cases were the most in a Monday-Sunday period since Feb. 8-14 (19,133).

Read the original:

Coronavirus in Ohio Thursday update: More than 3,400 new cases reported - NBC4 WCMH-TV