More Ohioans are in the hospital with COVID-19 on Monday than at any other point during the pandemic, state data shows.
The finding is a troubling indicator as a record surge in new coronavirus infections continues to pound Ohio.
On Monday, 1,154 COVID-19 patients occupied Ohio’s hospitals, compared to 1,144 on July 28, the previous high watermark, according to state data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project.
State data doesn’t reflect any capacity strain on the state health care system.
The hospitalizations, which the CDC says last on average for 10 to 13 days, may have long-term implications. A study in the Journal of American Medicine analyzing a limited population of 143 hospitalized patients found 87% experienced at least one symptom about two months out from infection, and 44% reported a worsened quality of life.
Deaths tend to be a lagging indicator, meaning the effects of the current case surge on the state’s death toll won’t be known for a few weeks after the wave crests.
On Monday, the seven-day moving average of new infections neared 2,000 per day. Ten new deaths were reported for a total of 5,075 dead and 17,172 hospitalized since March.
The test positivity rate (percentage of a day’s batch of tests that come back positive) neared 5% on Monday, double what it was just a month ago.
New Ohio covid-19 data:
— Jake Zuckerman (@jake_zuckerman) October 19, 2020
-183,624 cases (1,837 new in last 24 hrs)
-17,172 hospitalized (111 new)
-5,075 dead (10 new)
We're close to averaging 2,000 new cases per day. Every "rare" complication isn't that rare at a certain volume of cases pic.twitter.com/amHdhMLgoi
This story was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and republished here with permission.
