x
Breaking News
More () »

After 6 weeks of decreased COVID-19 cases, Franklin County sees uptick

The county says a variety of factors are playing a role.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — Franklin County looked as if it was turning the corner when it comes to COVID-19 cases, but then cases started creeping back up again.

“This week we went up almost 15%, 14.6%. That is concerning. Our positivity rate in Franklin County also went up from 3.5% up to 4.1%,” said Dr. Mysheika Roberts of Columbus Public Health

Dr. Roberts says several factors are at play including COVID-19 fatigue.

“Only 25% of Ohio’s population have received their vaccine so there is still more than a majority of Ohio residents who are not vaccinated yet and not protected by COVID-19,” Dr. Roberts said.

She also says more people are traveling for spring break.

“We know many of our residents are traveling and they could be bringing those viruses back to our community. For those of us who follow this, this increase is not unexpected whatsoever,” Dr. Roberts said.

Dr. Roberts said people need to continue to wear their masks and social distance until they are fully vaccinated.

The CDC says those who are fully vaccinated can be with other fully vaccinated in small groups without wearing a mask.

The state saw another spike in cases Tuesday, with the Ohio Department of Health reporting 2,458.

That's 968 more cases than Monday, but below the 2,742 cases we saw on March 26.

“While we are seeing some increase after a week of dramatic improvement, I think we are actually doing pretty well,” says Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff the state’s chief medical officer.

On March 25, the state reported 146.9 cases per 100,000 residents, but that number is expected to be higher this Thursday.

“It’s likely to land around 160 but that's nothing compared to the mid-800s when we were at the peak of the last surge,” Dr. Vanderhoff said.

But the higher the cases mean Ohio is further away from reaching 50 cases per 100,000 people. Gov. DeWine announced the state would lift its health orders once we reach that threshold.

Dr. Vanderhoff says removing them now would be a mistake.

“This battle is not over, we are still in the midst of the race and until we get across that finish line I don't think we can afford to drop the masking and distancing that the orders call for,” Dr. Vanderhoff said.

You can view the latest Ohio COVID-19 numbers here.

Before You Leave, Check This Out