Tri-State deaths from COVID-19 are still trending higher than most points throughout the 11-month pandemic, but new cases and hospitalizations have been on the decline for several weeks, and a new survey suggests most people in the region are adhering to health departments' safety recommendations.
According to a survey by Interact for Health, nine in 10 Greater Cincinnatians said they wear a mask when in an indoor public space, and seven out of 10 wear a mask everywhere they go in public. Nine out of 10 said they wash their hands "frequently" and use hand sanitizer.
"I think we as a community have come together and stepped up where we needed to," said Hamilton County health commissioner Greg Kesterman. "Those are good statistics showing our population has been doing what we ask."
Kesterman said positive case numbers and hospitalizations in the county have been trending down over the last seven days, but the county saw 27 new deaths between Tuesday and Wednesday, up from the previous week and the most it's seen in a single week since June.
Kesterman blamed holiday gatherings, the effects of which are still showing up in daily coronavirus case data.
He remained optimistic.
"The good news is those other metrics are decreasing, so we will start to see deaths start to decrease pretty quickly, as well," he said.
