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There are nearly 19,000 new cases of COVID recorded in Ohio in the past 24 hours
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — The Ohio Department of Health reports 18,942 Ohioans have tested positive for probable or confirmed cases during the past day.

This is one of the highest totals since the pandemic began. And health officials are bracing for more as people who gathered for holidays begin to show signs of COVID infection. Increased case levels are an indicator of future increases in hospitalizations.
Record high rates of infection are being recorded and hospitals statewide report being stretched due to a rising number of COVID patients, many of whom are unvaccinated. 2,300 Ohio National Guard members have been deployed to work at various hospitals statewide because of a shortage of staff to accommodate the increased number of patients. Guard members are providing medical services as well as helping out in other areas of hospitals where workers themselves have often fallen ill to the virus.
As the Omicron variant spreads through Ohio and the rest of the world, many who experience cold symptoms are wondering if they could have caught COVID. Ohio Dept of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said there’s high demand for tests too.
“To the tune of about 40,000 plus a day and more than a quarter of a million Ohioans were tested just in the week leading up to Christmas,” Vanderhoff said.
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