Complete Story
04/19/2022
COVID-19 Updates from Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky
Ohio State Updates: 4/13/22 - 4/19/22
In Springfield, Ohio, Clark County Health Commissioner Charles Patterson said clinics have been busy recently amid strong demand for second boosters. “Vaccines are going up. We're quite busy in the clinics,” he said during a COVID-19 update on Friday. “The second booster doses for our elderly and our immunocompromised have been going very well.” Patterson said the patients getting second boosters are experiencing similar side effects as with earlier vaccine doses. Serious side effects are rare, according to officials. Milder side effects may include injection site pain, fatigue, nausea or fever.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Keith Armitage, with University Hospitals in Cleveland, said in a video message Friday that he recommends the second boosters for everybody 65 and older and for people 50 and older who are at high-risk because of a condition, such as diabetes, hypertension or obesity.
COVID-19 numbers are rising slightly in Ohio after three months of declines as officials report the BA.2 omicron subvariant is the dominant strain in the state. Health officials said they are closely monitoring the trends, but they continue to feel positive about the state of the pandemic in Ohio. Cuyahoga County said it hasn’t documented a virus death in three weeks, and county health officials reported during a news conference Wednesday that the region is in good shape with a positivity rate of 2%. The BA.2 subvariant is more transmissible than the original strain of the omicron variant, but experts haven’t seen any evidence that it causes more severe illness.
According to the state’s COVID-19 wastewater surveillance, virus activity has recently increased substantially at 19 sites, increased moderately at seven sites, remained steady at 36 sites and decreased at 10 sites.
New COVID-19 cases have increased in Ohio this week, with an average of 684 new cases per day over the last 7 days compared to an average of 547 new cases per day over the previous 7 days. Day-to-day numbers continue to fluctuate.
There have been 2,681,437 total cases reported in Ohio with 38,266deaths reported. There are 314 Ohioans hospitalized with 38 in the ICU. 28 patients are on a ventilator. A total of 22,110,216 tests have been administered, which puts Ohio at a 7-day Positivity Rate of 3.2%.
A total of 7,413,682 Ohioans have received at least one valid dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of that number, 6,809,772 have been fully vaccinated. 3,505,674 booster doses have been administered.
As of Wednesday, April 20, all 88 counties are out of the red zone on the state’s COVID-19 incidence rate map. All counties but one have dropped to the yellow zone. You can see how your county is doing here.
Michigan State Updates: 4/13/22 - 4/19/22
Metro Detroit's major transportation agencies have largely dropped mandatory mask-wearing less than a day after a federal judge overturned the COVID-19 pandemic requirement for buses, trains, planes and other forms of public transit. The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), Detroit Metro Airport, Willow Run Airport and TheQLine streetcar system along Woodward Avenue are among those who announced that they are dropping mask mandates. Ride hailing services, meanwhile, appear split on requiring masks, according to a report Tuesday morning by The Associated Press. As of Tuesday morning, the website of ride sharing company Lyft still said masks were required. In an email to customers Tuesday morning, Uber said masks were recommended but no longer required.
Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced that 19 communities around Michigan have been awarded a total of $491,834 in grants aimed at supporting small local businesses to create resiliency and strengthen downtowns. MEDC’s Match on Main (MoM) program provides funding to communities that participate as a select and master level community in the Michigan Main Street program or are a Certified Redevelopment Ready community. The communities, who receive the grant funding from the MEDC, in turn award grants of up to $25,000 to eligible businesses seeking support. The grants are expected to create or retain 135 full-time jobs, and the projects are expected to generate a total private investment of more than $2.9 million. Grants may be used by the business for eligible expenses that support technical assistance, interior building renovations, permanent or semi-permanent activation of an outdoor space, permanent or semi-permanent business infrastructure related to COVID-19 recovery efforts, and other working capital needs such as marketing needs and inventory expenses. Additional needs identified by the business and supported by the local community are also considered.
New Michigan COVID-19 cases have largely increased over the past week with an average of 1,491 new cases per day over the last 7 days compared to an average of 1,182 new cases per day over the previous 7 days. Day-to-day numbers continue to fluctuate.
There have been 2,411,464 total cases reported in Michigan with 35,935 deaths reported. There are 446 Michiganders hospitalized with 189 in the ICU. 46 patients are on a ventilator. A total of 24,633,852 tests have been administered, which puts Michigan at a 7-day Positivity Rate of 6.2%.
A total of 6,674,004 Michiganders have received at least one valid dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of that number, 5,991,453 have been fully vaccinated. 3,150,563 booster doses have been administered.
As of Wednesday, April 20, all of Michigan's 83 counties are out of the red zone on the state’s COVID-19 incidence rate map. All counties except for seven are in the green zone. You can see how your county is doing here.
Kentucky State Updates: 4/13/22 - 4/19/22
Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties are three of only nine counties with the highest vaccination rates. All but three counties are now at a low community level.
Individuals who have been fully vaccinated and have had close contact with someone who has COVID should get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms. You should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive.
If you need assistance with scheduling an appointment to get vaccinated, you can call 855.598.2246.
Falsifying a vaccination card is a federal crime. If you are aware of anyone falsifying vaccine cards, please report the fraud here. You can also call 800.447.8477 (TTY 800.377.4950).
The COVID card you received at the time of vaccination is issued by the CDC. It cannot be replaced with another card. If you have lost or misplaced the card you were given when you received your vaccine, proof of vaccination can be printed from the Kentucky Immunization Registry.
New COVID-19 cases have increased in Kentucky this week, with an average of 486 new cases per day over the last 7 days compared to an average of 461 new cases per day over the previous 7 days. Day-to-day numbers continue to fluctuate.
There have been 1,322,729 total cases reported in Kentucky with 15,297 deaths reported. There are 176 Kentuckians hospitalized with 20 in the ICU. 9 patients are on a ventilator. A total of 4,280,517 tests have been administered, which puts Kentucky at a 7-day Positivity Rate of 3.12%.
A total of 2,949,520 Kentuckians have received at least one valid dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of that number, 2,557,696 have been fully vaccinated. 1,127,434 booster doses have been administered.
As of Wednesday, April 20, 117 out of 120 counties are in the green zone on the state’s COVID-19 incidence rate map. You can see how your county is doing here.
