Is Ohio's COVID-19 Surge Slowing? Experts Say They're Unsure

CLEVELAND — It's not yet clear if Ohio's COVID-19 surge is slowing, but there are promising indicators in the northern region of the state, medical experts said Thursday.

There are encouraging signs of a downturn in northern Ohio, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health. New cases of COVID-19 are slowing slightly in northern Ohio, according to a news conference last week with Dr. Robert Wylie, the chief medical operations officer for the Cleveland Clinic. Hospitalization levels may not drop for several weeks though, despite the decline in cases.

Will those signs translate to a sustained decrease in new cases hospitalizations?

"We just don't know yet," Vanderhoff said during a news conference on Thursday. He added that while northern Ohio is seeing some signs of a slowing surge, other parts of the state are seeing accelerating numbers of new cases and hospitalizations.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he added.

The Statewide Numbers

Ohio is currently averaging more than 17,000 new COVID-19 cases and 330 new hospitalizations per day, the state health department said. The state has repeatedly seen record-levels of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 this month, Vanderhoff said.

The Ohio Hospital Association notes that one out of every three patients in an Ohio hospital is battling COVID-19.

"If we know one thing about COVID-19, it's extraordinarily unpredictable. Things can change dramatically and quickly. The bottom line is this: COVID-19 is not going away and omicron is not just a little cold for everyone. Lives are still at risk and lives, sadly, are still being lost," Vanderhoff said.

Luckily, the tactics for slowing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting yourself and others remain largely the same, said Dr. Jennifer Wall Forrester, associate chief medical officer and infectious disease physician at UC Health.

"Wear a mask; maintain social distancing if you can; stay home if you're sick, unless you're sick enough to need hospitalization; wash your hands; and get vaccinated and get your booster, if you're eligible," she said.

The Ohio National Guard has already been deployed around the state to support strained hospitals and increase statewide testing capacity. Guardsmen are serving as staff at select hospitals and running mass testing clinics in major Ohio cities.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden also announced his plans to send a team of 20 doctors, nurses and respiratory specialists to bolster the Cleveland Clinic's ranks. Ohio is one of only six states to receive federal support from the president, a fact Vanderhoff said highlights Ohio's hard-hit status in the latest surge.