For second day in a row, Ohio hits new record of COVID-19 cases

Ohio set a new record high for coronavirus cases Thursday, marking the second day in a row the state hit a new high and the third time in less than a week.

Another 2,178 Ohioans tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 175,843, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

More:Ohio reports third day in a row of new COVID cases above 2,000

The previous daily case record, set Wednesday, was 2,039. Before Wednesday, Ohio's record was 1,840 new cases and was set last Friday.

"This is in stark contrast to not too long ago, September 20th, barely a month ago when we had 726 cases," Gov. Mike DeWine said on Thursday. "We've gone up dramatically in a relatively short period of time."

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Thursday's cases were more than the three-week average of 1,338 new cases reported per day. 

DeWine and several doctors have warned Ohioans to keep their distance, wear masks and take other measures to combat the virus when gathering. 

Dr. David Margolius, director of internal medicine at MetroHealth in Cleveland, said he worries people are treating COVID-19 like they might approach dieting. Eating a cheeseburger or a chocolate bar once in a while is OK to do while dieting, but people cannot do it all the time and stay healthy, Margolius said.

"If you're going to spend time with people, spend time safely … You can really be around other people but do it safely" Margolius said.

More than 3.75 million COVID-19 tests have been administered across the state since the pandemic began. The average positive test rate for Ohioans the past seven days rose to 4.2% Tuesday, the most-recent day for which data is available, according to the state health department.

Deaths rose Thursday by five, which is less than the three-week average of 15 new deaths reported per day. So far, the virus has killed 5,038 Ohioans, according to the state.

An additional 108 Ohioans were hospitalized with the virus by Thursday. That's more than a three-week average of 84 new hospitalizations a day, state data shows.

Admissions to intensive care units increased on Thursday by 43, which is above a three-week average of 14 new ICU admissions a day. As of Thursday, 1,041 Ohioans remained hospitalized with COVID-19, including 266 in ICUs and 134 on ventilators.

DeWine on Thursday pointed to increasing hospitalizations as a warning sign that the virus was surging again in Ohio. The number of Ohioans with COVID-19 in hospitals has slowly increased since early October, which the governor called "a sign that the storm clouds are gathering."

Hospitals remain in good shape, but the governor said that could change if numbers do not start to decrease.

>>Read More:DeWine: Despite vaccine on horizon, COVID pandemic will get worse before it gets better

"We could be in for a very, very heavy storm," he said.

A record 29 counties are now under a red Level 3 COVID-19 public health advisory.  More than 65% of Ohioans now live in a red county, DeWine said.

Franklin County, which had been at an orange Level 2 alert, was elevated Thursday to a red Level 3. Union, Licking, Madison, Marion and Fayette are also now under a red Level 3 advisory while Delaware, Pickaway and Fairfield counties are under an orange Level 2 advisory.

Franklin County added 203 new cases and no new deaths by Thursday. That means cases increased by 0.68% from the day before, data shows.

In total, Franklin County has reported 29,901 cases and 635 deaths, according to the state.

DeWine said on Thursday that he has no plans to shut down Ohio's economy again to slow the spread of coronavirus. But, DeWine said no governor could rule out such a move if things worsen.

Next week, the governor said his administration hopes to announce some sort of financial support to help bars and restaurants that have been impacted by the state's 10 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales for in-person consumption. DeWine's announcement came after the Ohio Senate introduced a bill that would seek to scale back curfews.

DeWine said he had hoped to ask the state Liquor Control Commission to lift the last-call curfew but said recent increases in cases makes that unlikely.

Also on Thursday, Ohio State University announced that it will begin operating its own laboratory to process COVID-19 tests taken by asymptomatic students, faculty and staff. The lab will launch operations this fall.

Ohio State will be able to lower the cost per test by around 85%, allowing the university to potentially save millions of dollars, according to campus officials. Turnaround time on tests may also be shortened from 48 to 72 hours to get results to as little as 24 hours, according to the university.

"We're going to be able to increase our capacity and capabilities at a significantly lower cost," Christy Bertolo, a member of Ohio State's COVID-19 implementation team, said in a prepared statement.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby