It’s been two years since the first case of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first confirmed in Ohio.
Three cases, all in Cuyahoga County residents, were announced by the state health department on March 9, 2020. In the two years since, more than 2.6 million COVID-19 infections have been reported and more than 37,000 Ohioans have died of the disease, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“Our priority from the start was to save lives,” state health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said in an email to The Dispatch. “Looking ahead, Ohio is well-positioned to confront future challenges from COVID-19 with robust tools that include strong public health partnerships, many forms of testing, vaccines and boosters, and a growing arsenal of therapeutics.”
While it would later be discovered that the first three cases confirmed on March 9, likely weren’t Ohio’s first, for most they marked the arrival of the virus.
Ohio coronavirus cases are falling, following nationwide trend
Although the pandemic continues two years later, doctors have said there’s reason for optimism as infections in recent weeks have plummeted across much of Ohio and the nation as a whole.
On Tuesday, 799 new cases of the virus were reported, which is far below the record of 32,523 new infections reported Jan. 3.
