Lorain County's COVID-19 case rate still in lower half of Ohio counties

Updated COVID-19 case rate data from the Ohio Department of Health continues to show Lorain County in the lower half of the state's 88 counties in terms of new cases per 100,000 residents over the most recent two weeks. State health department data accounting for cases with onset dates between Oct. 14 and Oct. 27 showed Lorain County had a rate of 357.3 new cases per 100,000 population over those two weeks, down from 413.8 the week prior and ranking 60th highest in the state. The statewide average rate over that time period was 359.1 new cases per 100,000 population. COVID-19 case rates in Ohio counties ranged from 236.6 new cases per 100,000 population in Hamilton County to 962.1 new cases per 100,000 in Guernsey County. Overall across the state, the Ohio Department of Health reported 4,190 new COVID-19 cases in its daily data update Thursday, a number that includes both cases confirmed by PCR testing and cases considered probable. The 4,190 new cases reported statewide Thursday were above Ohio's 21-day average of 3,996 per day. COVID-related hospitalizations reported Thursday were below Ohio's 21-day average of 216 per day, with 178 reported. New intensive care unit admissions were slightly above the recent average, however, as 24 were reported Thursday compared with the 21-day average of 22 per day. In Lorain County specifically, the Ohio Department of Health reported 115 new COVID-19 cases and seven new hospitalizations Thursday. Although the overall level of community transmission is still high nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 cases continue to decrease. State data also showed some residents are still deciding to get vaccinated against the virus. According to Ohio Department of Health data updated Thursday, 6,461,689 residents of Ohio have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 55.28 percent of the state population. That is a one-day increase of more than 9,500 newly reported vaccinations. Lorain County had 186 newly reported first vaccine doses Thursday, increasing its total to 183,173 people in the county who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That is 59.12 percent of the county's population. Among Ohio's age 12 and older population that is currently eligible for vaccination, 64.61 percent were reported to have received at least one vaccination as of Thursday, according to the Ohio Department of Health data.