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WKSU, our public radio partners in Ohio and across the region and NPR are all continuing to work on stories on the latest developments with the coronavirus and COVID-19 so that we can keep you informed.

Ohio Reports 123 More Coronavirus Deaths, Second-Highest One Day Total

a photo of hospital equipment
David J. Phillip
/
Associate Press
On Wednesday, Ohio COVID patients on ventilators hit 714, a new record.

Ohio on Wednesday reported its second-highest number of confirmed deaths from COVID-19, and the third day this week that death totals hit the triple digits.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, 123 confirmed and probable deaths from COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, up from 102 the day before. The current record of 153 deaths in a single day came last Wednesday.

Among the recent deaths was Scioto County Commissioner Mike Crabtree, who had just been re-elected in November.

After five days in a row of setting hospitalization records, Ohio saw a slight overall drop in patients on Wednesday – with 5,208 people hospitalized and 1,222 in the ICU. At the same time, COVID patients on ventilators hit 714, a new record.

The state reported more than 7,400 new confirmed cases – compared to just over 2,700 a month ago. In his coronavirus briefing Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine warned that there’s no indication that the state has hit a plateau.

“There’s a two- to three-week lag before a case," DeWine warned. "They test positive and when they might be going into the hospital, when they might be going into an ICU. So we know that what’s going to happen for the next couple of weeks is sort of baked in already, it’s going to happen.”

Since the pandemic began, Ohio has seen a total of 437,928 COVID-19 cases and 6,671 deaths.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.