Ohio drops to 155 cases per 100,000 people; when could state reach goal?

The state dropped in its cases per 100,000 people this afternoon, according to data from Ohio Department of Health.

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By the numbers:

Last week, Ohio had 179 cases per 100,000 people
Ohio dropped to 155 cases per 100,000 today
Ohio needs to drop to 50 cases per 100,000 for all health orders to be lifted

When could that happen?

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the state’s chief medical officer, said he thinks it will take longer than a few weeks to reach the threshold set by the Governor, adding that the impact of variants will be key of the rate of case declines in the state.

“Just how much longer I don’t know,” Vanderhoff told News Center 7 last week. “We will hit that threshold.”

Dr. Roberto Colon with Miami Valley Hospital said “It’ll probably be something that takes several months.”

Vanderhoff said even once we reach that 50 cases per 100,000 people threshold it will be important to continue getting vaccinations and also continue recommended health practices.

To actually get there, Ohio will need an average of about 420 cases per day for a two-week period, or a two-week total of about 5,880 cases. On Wednesday, March 10, for example,1,868 new cases were reported.

Ohio hasn’t been at the 50 cases per 100,000 people since the first half of April.

However, at that time testing was limited and likely wasn’t a true reflection of the actual number of cases the state had, state officials have said, so it’s possible Ohio has never actually been at the 50 cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic hit.

County-by-county cases per 100,000 people: