COVID-19 cases within Hamilton County are approaching record low numbers from June 2021.
The county is averaging 74 cases per day. In just the past week, the county's confirmed 543 new cases. Commissioner Denise Driehaus says this is half of what was seen a couple of weeks ago.
"543 is a very low number and something definitely to celebrate," Driehaus said. "It's still significant I suppose, but not nearly as high as we've been seeing."
At least 77 COVID hospitalizations in the region have been confirmed within the last week. However, 38 people in Hamilton County have died from the virus during that time. Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman says 245 COVID patients are currently in the region's hospitals.
"Worth pointing out, that represents about 1 in 10 patients within our hospitals have COVID, compared to about a month ago when 1 in 3 patients were in the hospital with COVID," Kesterman said.
Hamilton County's positivity rate is 3.82%. The Greater Cincinnati region's rate is at 4.2% as of Feb. 28.
The county's current COVID rates means Hamilton County residents do not need to wear masks indoors, according to the new CDC guidelines. Mask mandates have been dropped within county buildings. Driehaus says this comes as a relief, especially after dealing with the pandemic for two years, but notes there are still people wearing masks in the buildings as a precaution.
"Maybe they're immunocompromised, maybe they have a family member that they're worried about and that's great," Driehaus said. "You know, I think we all need to do what we're most comfortable with and not judge others that choose to still wear a mask."
During the pandemic, nearly 186,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Hamilton County. In that same timeframe, nearly 6,000 people have been hospitalized and nearly 2,000 people have died from the virus.
