Ohio reported 50,299 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, as the state continued to clear a backlog in positive cases, pumping the number much higher than normal.
The 21-day average of reported new cases is now at 21,286, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That’s up thousands from a few days ago due to the backlog being cleared.
With the recent surge in COVID cases, ODH’s system reached its processing capacity, causing a multi-day backlog of tens of thousands of cases. Some cases also involved further manual review by state epidemiologists, according to ODH.
A processing enhancement implemented Thursday reportedly expanded Ohio’s ability to process more lab results, allowing the backlog to begin to clear.
ODH also reported on Saturday that in the last 24 hours, 345 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19. That’s below the current 21-day average of 364 reported hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
Thirty-nine new patients were admitted to intensive care units with COVID-19 in Ohio in the last 24 hours, according to the statistics. The 21-day average of reported COVID-19 ICU admissions is 34.
A total of 30,922 people have died from COVID-19 in the state of Ohio as of Saturday. The state updates death data twice a week. Because other states don’t regularly report death certificates to Ohio’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, death data can fluctuate.
As of Saturday, 60.74% of Ohioans, or over 7.1 million people, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 7,853 in the last 24 hours.
