COLUMBUS — Ohio’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be stuck; cases are falling but slowly, vaccination levels have slipped and the state’s economic recovery remains below the national average.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced at his weekly news briefing Monday the state’s case rate per 100,000 is at 147.9, slightly lower than a week ago but consistent with the past several weeks. DeWine set a goal of 50 cases per 100,000 to end COVID-19 restrictions.
So far, 40.39% of Ohio’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but the rate of people getting vaccinated has dipped recently.
“We have seen the number of vaccines go down rather dramatically in Ohio. We hope to see a better number,” DeWine said.
COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours fell to 995, while the average case count in a 24-hour period over the past 21 days is 1,648. Hospitalizations also fell below the 21-day average, and no deaths were reported.
“We’re edging downward in the number of cases, which is encouraging news,” DeWine said. “We are moving in the right direction in regard to cases.”
Ohio continues to lag below average in economic recovery based on a new report released Tuesday from the personal finance website WalletHub.
The state ranked 36th in the nation based on the report, well behind neighbors Indiana and Kentucky.
Ohio ranked 25th in overall economy and labor market and 28th in COVID-19 health. The state’s leisure and travel area ranked 42nd in the country, however. It also 48th in the lowest change in total weekly job postings.
South Dakota ranked as the best state for COVID-19 recovery, followed by Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska and Alaska.
Michigan is the worst state in overall recovery, based on the report, followed by New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
