COLUMBUS – A feared surge in new COVID-19 cases in Ohio following the Labor Day weekend was slow to materialize.
The state Tuesday reported 685 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, the lowest number since Sept. 8 and the fourth straight day in which fewer than 1,000 cases were reported.
The number rebounded to 1,173 new cases on Wednesday for a total of 146,753 with 4,687 deaths.
The number of active cases fell by 128 to 16,043, and the seven-day positivity rate among those Ohioans being tested for the novel coronavirus fell to 2.9%.
The coronavirus has hit long-term care facilities hard, with residents accounting for six of every 10 of the 4,635 COVID-19 deaths in the state, so Gov. Mike DeWine says the state will allow indoor visiting at nursing homes as cold weather approaches after stopping the practice at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state allowed outdoor visits in July as concerns grew about patients doing poorly without such family contact.
“Now we’ve got to balance how we have indoor visitation but do everything that we can to protect people in the nursing home, the residents who live in the nursing home,” DeWine said.
DeWine says he expects an announcement with more details within a week.