COLUMBUS, Ohio — There is a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, Ohio health officials said Thursday, citing a 25% drop in statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations over the course of more than two weeks.
Ohio hit a pandemic high when health officials reported an additional 6,749 hospitalizations on Jan. 10. Since then, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says those numbers have steadily decreased.
"That number has been falling daily ever since and now stands at 5,004," Vanderhoff said Thursday.
Northeast Ohio, formerly a hotspot for COVID-19, continues to see the steepest drop in hospitalizations.
"Despite these encouraging signs, our hospitals remain challenged," said Vanderhoff.
The Ohio National Guard continues to assist hospitals in southern and southeast Ohio, where hospitalizations continue to rise.
In terms of reaching a peak for omicron cases, Vanderhoff says it depends on location.
In northwest Ohio, hospitals are seeing a mix of data.
Brian Kaminski, vice president of Quality and Patient Safety for ProMedica in Toledo, says the hospital system reached its highest number of deaths just last week. That volume, combined with staffing shortages, has strained the system.
"But there is light on the horizon," said Kaminski, who explained the number of virus hospitalizations is beginning to reduce. According to Kaminski, northwest Ohio is roughly one week behind the northeast part of the state in terms of COVID-19 data.
Though numbers are beginning to trend in the right direction, Vanderhoff said it's important Ohioans continue to follow COVID-19 guidance.
"We need to keep taking steps toward a world where COVID-19 is more endemic than pandemic," said Vanderhoff.
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