Lawrence ranked highest in Ohio

New cases of COVID-19 are seeing a large spike in Lawrence County in recent days.

According to figures released by the Lawrence County Health Department, there were 179 new cases of the virus in the county from July 1-7.

Lawrence County is also ranked first for most new cases of the virus in Ohio.

This is a marked increase from the last figures released, from June 10-16, when the county reported 77 new cases and was ranked fifth in Ohio.

Four hospitalizations were reported from July 1-7, up from one in mid-June.

The county reported 541 new cases of COVID-19 for the month of June, and the 179 reported for the first week July is already nearly one-third of that figure.

Cases and hospitalizations for the virus are on the rise nationally as the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron circulates across the U.S.

Ohio has seen a sharp increase in recent days, with the Ohio Department of Health reporting 24.465 new cases of the virus for the past week, a 30 percent rise. This is the first time the new case rate has surpassed 20,000 since February.

The county health department continues to offer COVID-19 vaccination clinics, providing initial doses and booster shots. Vaccines are also available at most pharmacies. For more information, call 740-532-3962.