January 2 will mark the one-year anniversary of the novel coronavirus being in Ohio, according to backdated data from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
Although ODH originally first identified cases of COVID-19 in March, it later used antibody testing to trace seven cases back to January 2.
These cases include:
- An Erie County woman 80 years or older
- A Licking County man between ages 40 and 49
- A Lucas County woman between ages 30 and 39
- A Mahoning County woman 80 or older
- A Mahoning County man between ages 70 and 79
- A Summit County woman between ages 70 and 79
- A Warren County woman between ages 40 and 49
Nearly 150 other Ohio residents have also had cases traced back to throughout January, according to ODH data.
The ODH originally thought that three patients in Cuyahoga County were the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. All three of those patients were in their 50s and diagnosed in March.
Two of the patients had been on a cruise on the Nile River, and the third was a man who was at the America Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C.
Since then, Ohio has seen upwards of 700,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in more than 8,000 confirmed deaths, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. More than 550,000 people have recovered from the virus in the state.
Cumulatively, more than 38,000 Ohioans have been hospitalized from the virus, with a little more than 4,000 hospitalized as of January 1, 2021.
As of December 31, the United States has seen more than 19,700,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 33,000 deaths, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Ohio Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair.
