XENIA — Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have nearly tripled in the last four days.
According to the latest numbers provided by Dr. Amy Acton — director of the Ohio Department of Health — during the governor’s daily afternoon press conference, 704 Ohioans have tested positive.
On March 21 there were 247 positive tests. Wednesday’s numbers were as of 11 a.m. instead of the usual 2 p.m. so Acton said numbers provided during Thursday’s update will show another leap in positive cases.
“We know that is again the tip of the iceberg for us because our testing is still so limited,” Acton said. “Stay tuned. This data … will get a lot stronger for us once we have widespread testing available.”
Gov. Mike DeWine Wednesday said May 1 is still the anticipated peak date.
A deeper look inside the numbers shows that COVID-19 doesn’t play favorites. The age range is from under one to 94. There are 371 males and 333 females with the virus and a total of 10 have died.
Of those testing positive, almost 70 percent are older than 40. But Acton stressed the virus can affect anyone.
“Young people do get sick,” she said. “Middle-age folks, people a little over middle age.”
Acton added that 1 in every 250 people between the ages of 40 and 50 will die from COVID-19.
“I want us all to take this seriously,” she said. “We’re going through some unprecedented things.”
The virus has been reported in 55 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Cuyahoga County, which consists of Cleveland and suburbs, has 206 cases. Franklin (Columbus area) has 88, Hamilton (Cincinnati) has 48 and Summit (Akron) has 43. To date, Greene County has three confirmed cases while neighbor Montgomery County has 14.
Some of the numbers may be skewed a bit, because numbers are reported by testing site, not place of residence, Acton said. In all, 14,764 have been tested.
Other figures of note:
— 16 percent of cases (116) are health care workers.
— 51 is the median age.
— 182 hospitalizations.
— 75 ICU admissions.
Acton said the state will need to double its hospital capacity to meet the need that’s on the way.
