Ohio Department of Health workers reported 4,229 new COVID-19 diagnoses on Election Day, marking the highest-ever day of new cases since the pandemic began.
No such record has lasted more than a week since the start of October, when cases began to spike across the United States and more broadly across the world. The previous record-holder, Oct. 29,brought 3,590.
Tuesday’s number represents a steep spike and the first day the state has ever reported over 4,000 cases in one 24-hour span.
ODH also reported 33 new deaths, 213 new hospitalizations and 25 patients freshly admitted to intensive care.
Cases do not always occur on the day they are reported; as Gov. Mike DeWine has noted in news conferences, there is often a short delay between a case occurring and being recorded by the state health department.
DeWine has resisted talk of enacting new statewide health measures, opting instead to delegate to Ohio’s 88 county health systems. Ohioans at odds with health guidelines are more likely to listen to local government than him, he argued when announcing the decision.
However, he has warned that the state’s trajectory is deeply concerning.
“The virus is raging throughout the state of Ohio,” he said Thursday. “There’s no place to hide.”
