Hamilton County is still seeing a gradual decline of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and health experts aren't expecting current variants to cause severe problems locally.
Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman says COVID-19 data is being reported at the state and county level weekly instead of daily, as it once was. But the snapshots remain a good indication of what the virus looks like in communities.
"We are, in Hamilton County, at about 700 cases of COVID-19 at this point and time, and that number continues to decline, although at a slower rate," he said at a Hamilton County Commission meeting Tuesday. "Our average cases per day, at this snapshot in time — which was last Thursday — is about 31 cases per day. I see a few [more] numbers daily, I suspect that's a little closer to 50. So it's up to a little bit, but nothing of concern."
But despite the decreasing numbers, he reported people are still being hospitalized due to COVID-19. As of today, there are 92 people hospitalized — 14 in the ICU, and eight on ventilators due to COVID-19.
Kesterman also says while variants continue to crop up in the United States, a combination of vaccinated people and those who've already had omicron means it's unlikely the BA.2 variant will cause severe problems locally.
"That's me trying to look into the crystal ball. And so there's really no way of guaranteeing anything. But that's our hope at this time," he said.
He also says the data shows people are still getting tested for COVID-19 at a rate of about 1,700 tests per day in Hamilton County.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control said people over 50 and those with compromised immune systems can get another booster shot.
Kesterman says more information about booster shots and testing facilities can be found on Hamilton County Public Health website.
