Weekly COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations drop, Dec. 31

OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report was released Wednesday and showed declines in weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths. OHA reported 6,790 new daily cases during the week of Monday, Dec. 21 through Sunday, Dec. 27, a 22% decrease from the previous week. That marked the third consecutive week of declining cases. There were 337 persons hospitalized for COVID-19, a 23% decline from the previous week. Additionally, there were 86 reported COVID-19 reported deaths, down 100 from last week and representing the lowest total in four weeks. There were 134,498 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Dec. 20 through Dec. 26. The percentage of positive tests increased to 6.3%. People age 20 to 49 have accounted for 54% of COVID-19 cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 77% of deaths associated with the virus. The weekly report features a new format and includes additional information on new cases and data spanning the entire pandemic. Wednesday’s COVID-19 outbreak report shows 4,567 active COVID-19 outbreaks in care facilities, living communities and long-term care facilities and an additional 296 deaths.