Ohio
Ohio’s COVID summer surge ramps up thanks largely to KP variant
U.S. faces COVID-19 surge ahead of schools reopening
Several states across the country have experienced a rise in COVID-19 cases over the summer before children head back to school.
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Summer is winding down, but Ohio’s COVID-19 cases aren’t.
The state’s weekly average jumped from around 5,000 at the beginning of August to over 7,000 this past week, driven primarily by the KP.3.1.1 variant, the current dominant variant in the United States.
Other culprits for the continuing surge in cases include the LB.1 variant, one of the members of the Omicron family strain, though there’s no evidence that these variants are causing more severe levels of disease, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
More: Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive for COVID again as Ohio sees uptick in cases
What are Ohio’s current COVID-19 numbers?
The state health department reported 8,352 cases during the week of Aug. 15 through Aug. 21, a 13% increase from the 7,347 cases reported the week before.
May’s case count totaled a little over 3,800, but cases nearly doubled in June, with 6,472 reported. Cases then nearly tripled in July at well over 18,000.
August’s total amounts to over 21,000 cases thus far.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths also increased slightly, though case totals sit at small fractions of the peak pandemic numbers. By comparison, there were over 109,000 cases reported in August 2021.
However, the state health department said that COVID remains “a very real health threat,” and “any increase in cases reaffirms the importance of staying up to date with vaccination, which remains the best way to prevent severe illness from COVID.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months or older receive the most recent COVID-19 shot, which the Food and Drug Administration just approved on Aug. 22. Vaccinations with said shot could start as early as September.
Samantha Hendrickson is The Dispatch’s medical business and health care reporter. She can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com.
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Central Ohio has a new option for late-night sweets.
Jeff’s Donuts opened its first Ohio location Wednesday morning at 5717 N. Hamilton Road, between Gahanna and New Albany.
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The shop will be open 24 hours.
Sixteen ‘almost feral’ children. Aged 18 months to 18 years. Hidden from sight in an Ohio house of horrors.
Until now.
It’s a situation difficult to fathom: Investigators found 16 kids living inside a 1,300-square-foot home in Vinton County, Ohio, confined in a 12-by-12 bedroom investigators say was covered in human waste. Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., and Christina Siders were arrested on Tuesday, June 30th, and remain in jail after waiving their preliminary hearings today, Tuesday, July 7th.
Investigative reporter Anne Emerson goes beyond the headlines to understand the human impact in the developing Siders child abuse case. How did children live under these conditions for so long? We wanted to hear from the local community affected by this horrific story.
In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we hear from those voices – from Captain Jeremiah Griffith who was a first responder to the shocking scene, to local Vinton County Pastor James Dimel who describes the community’s support of children who were trapped in a ‘den of evil’. Law enforcement and locals share their shock at the horror lurking in their own community. And Attorney Thomas Stolly, who represents Elizabeth Siders, says the case is more complicated than many believe, urging the public to remember that his client is presumed innocent.
Today, we react in real time to what we know so far in this developing story, and offer multiple perspectives of those closest to this case.
Subscribe to Criminally Obsessed for continuing coverage of the Siders investigation, true crime updates, courtroom developments, and exclusive interviews with the real people impacted by these cases.
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