By: Daniel Cooley
It’s a case of bad news and good news for Williams and Fulton Counties and the state of Ohio. In the good news area, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to drop. However, the bad news is that in all three cases, things are still in the high incidence rate.
Over the last two weeks, the number of COVID cases averages out to 26 cases per 100,000 people. In Williams County, while the case load dropped from 722 cases per 100,000 to 466, the number of cases did not drop as much as most of the state, because Williams County moved up from 32nd to 16th.
The actual number of cases over the past two weeks in Williams County is 171, in a county with a population of 36,692.
Meanwhile, Fulton County jumped up nine spots to 53rd, but it’s numbers per 100,000 were significantly lower than Williams County, which had 266 cases per 100,000. Fulton’s actual case numbers over the past two weeks was 112, in a county with a population of 42,126.
“Around 53rd is where we tend to be for every two weeks,” said Kim Cupp, of the Fulton County Health Department.
“The continued numbers drop is encouraging, but it’s important that people know that our numbers are still high. At one time, our numbers were very, very high, so it’s going to take awhile for our numbers to get down to the desirable level (of 100 people infected out of 100,000). My recommendation is that people still want to be cautious.”
With incidence levels still at a high rate in most of the counties in the state, that means, although it’s not mandatory, to wear a mask when indoors in public places. It’s also recommended to get fully vaccinated.
In Williams County, 46.8% have received a first vaccine dose and 43.3% are fully vaccinated. In Fulton County, 52.4% have received one vaccine dose and 49% are fully vaccinated.
Medical experts might say that the higher number of vaccinations in Fulton County could be why the number of COVID cases per 100,000 is lower.
There are just two counties in Ohio that have reached the desired 100 people out of 100,000. The two counties are Holmes, at 100.1 per 100,000 and Cuyahoga, with 98 per 100,000.
The actual number of cases over the past two weeks in Holmes County is 44, i in a county with a population of 43,900. Cuyahoga, with a population of 1,235, there have been 1,204 cases over the past two weeks.
In Williams County, the total number of cases is 8,904, with 368 hospitalizations and 152 deaths. In Fulton County, the total number of cases is 10,219, with 168 deaths and 476 hospitalizations.
Dan can be reached at publisher@thewvillagereporter.com