No one has died of COVID-19 in Cuyahoga County in the past three weeks.
That is just one piece of good news that county health department officials presented during a press conference Wednesday.
Currently, Cuyahoga County – like the rest of Ohio – is enjoying low COVID-19 levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rate of positive tests has dropped to 2% and less than 2% of county hospital beds are occupied with patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, said board of health director of epidemiology Jana Rush.
“With a high of over 35% during the omicron surge and currently our countywide rate is at 2% with the volume of tests remaining stable over the past seven weeks, with about 30,000 tests being ran each week,” she said.
Rush said the BA.2 variant is now the dominant variant in the U.S. and the county, but symptoms are no more severe than BA.1.
“This now makes up 85% of new infections that are occurring locally as well as nationally,” she said.
County health experts say they are closely monitoring hospitalizations and other data as the new BA.2 variant takes hold for signs of an uptick in cases.
Natural immunity and vaccines both offer protection against the BA.2 variant, Rush added.
About 62% of county residents have received the first two-shot vaccine series; 35% have received a booster dose of the vaccine,” she said.
Officials also introduced Dr. Roderick Harris during the press conference, who at the end of the month will take over for as county health commissioner from Terry Allan. County executive Armond Budish lauded Allan for his work during the pandemic, specifically his efforts to equitably distribute vaccines.
