Ohio recorded another 10,000 cases of coronavirus Friday, making it the fourth day in a row to do so, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
The state added 10,359 cases, bringing its total to 542,209.
Tuesday Ohio added backlogged antigen test results to its case total, resulting in a 25,721 cases spike. However, even without the approximately 13,000 antigen test results, Ohio was still over 10,000 daily cases.
Ohio dipped below the 400 daily hospitalizations mark Friday for the first time since Monday. The state reported 394 hospitalizations, above the 21-day average of 361.
For the six straight day, Ohio has more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state. According to ODH, there are 5,091 coronavirus inpatients Friday, with 1,187 in southwest Ohio.
COVID-19 patients account for 16.30% of hospital beds and 21.09% of ICU beds in the region, a slight decrease from the 18% and 27% respectively reported earlier this month.
As of Friday, the region has 2,159 (29.65%) of hospital beds and 242 (20.92%) ICU beds available. Throughout the pandemic, Ohio has reported a total of 31,536 hospitalizations and 5,134 ICU admissions related to COVID-19.
The state recorded 128 deaths Friday, bringing the total to 7,426.
On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the state’s curfew will continue through Jan. 2.
“We believe the curfew, along with mask-wearing, have had an impact, and the next 21 days are extremely critical,” he said. “We must all do everything we can to slow down the virus.”
The ODH issued a variance for four sporting events previously scheduled that will not end until after the 10 p.m. curfew. The games are the Columbus Crew MLS championship game, the Browns and Bengals games and the University of Cincinnati conference championship game.
DeWine noted that anyone with plans to meet friends or family to watch the games should follow safety protocols and health guidelines.
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