WASHINGTON — Ohio's capitol city has the potential to become a hot spot for the coronavirus, according to a White House report obtained by NBC News.
The data, presented on May 7 to the coronavirus task force but previously unreleased to the public, listed Columbus as a "location to watch" along with seven other U.S. cities. These are municipalities where COVID-19 numbers have been rising at a concerning rate but are still not considered a "hot spots" at this time.
As of Tuesday, Columbus had 3,103 reported cases of the virus among its residents, a 94.2% increase since April 28 and just over 12% of all 25,250 cases throughout the state of Ohio. Of those more than 3,000 residents, 95 have died.
Besides being the state capitol, Columbus is Ohio's largest city with an estimated population of more than 890,000. Only Cuyahoga County has more citizens by itself, and just recently Columbus' county of Franklin overtook Cuyahoga for the most coronavirus cases in the state (more than 4,000 and counting).
In addition to the "locations to watch," the White House report identified 10 cities which experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases of at least 72.4%. Grove City, Kentucky topped the list with a 650% surge (partly due to an outbreak at a local prison), while other spots included Nashville and Des Moines.
The coronavirus pandemic has so far killed more than 83,000 Americans, including more than 1,400 Ohioans.