HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — A spike in COVID-19 cases across the county has not been caused by one specific source; the uptick in cases are “coming from the community,” Hamilton County Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman said Wednesday.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 14,907 positive cases in Hamilton County, an increase of 954 cases from last week, Commissioner Denise Driehaus said.
In last week’s briefing, Kesterman shared Hamilton County and Cincinnati data, which showed an increase of about 80 positive COVID-19 cases per day. This week, Kesterman said he noticed a “significant jump” in cases; agencies are now seeing an increase of about 120 cases per day.
“These cases are coming from the community, there’s not one specific source,” Kesterman said. “We know that they are not from super spreader events, they’re from people going shopping and being careless, they’re from gatherings after work or on the weekends, they’re from sporting events, they’re from schools, they’re from nursing homes, they’re all over in our community, there’s not one source that’s leading to this increase.”
Kesterman said people should adjust their Halloween and Thanksgiving plans so they can maintain social distancing and limit the amount of people they have contact with.
“When we let other families into our circles, we need to continue to be cautious because that is how COVID-19 is spreading, it’s spreading from person to person, and it’s in those places where we’re letting our guard down,” he said.
The county’s increase in COVID-19 cases is a trend that mirrors state and national numbers, Driehaus said.
Here are the other COVID-19 numbers for Hamilton County:
- 1,205 hospitalizations, up 38 from last week
- 337 deaths, up 5 from last week
Driehaus encouraged everyone to wear a mask and said anyone who may have been exposed should get tested.
“If we could get compliance up to 80 to 90% in Ohio for mask wearing, we could dramatically change the trajectory of the next several months. If we don’t, things will get worse,” she said.
Click here to view a map of testing sites in Hamilton County.
