COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A school district and a private school in suburban Columbus lead the state in reported cases of COVID-19, according to updated numbers published Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health.
Olentangy Local Schools leads the state with 28 cumulative reported cases of coronavirus – 21 being students and seven being staff members. And Delaware Christian School ranks second with 25 cumulative cases – 23 being students and two being staff.
Most schools in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties are reporting no cases at all or single-digit numbers. None are over 3, district-wide.
Thursday marks the second week that ODH has released official weekly numbers for each school district and non-public school. ODH data shows 739 total cases of COVID-19 in Ohio schools as of Thursday, up from 319 a week ago. 466 cumulative cases have been students and 273 have been school staff members.
20 of Delaware Christian’s cases were reported in the past week, as well as 19 of Olentangy’s.
Accounting for student population, Delaware Christian’s case total appears more striking than Olentangy’s. Delaware Christian has 23 cases among roughly 300 students, while Olentangy has 21 cases among a student body of more than 21,000.
A list of schools with the most cases shows central Ohio schools make up five of the top six:
The private school with the second-highest case total is Warren County’s Bishop Fenwick High School with five cases.
315 districts or non-public buildings have reported cases so far, up from 158 last week. The vast majority of those have only reported a few cases or less.
Gov. Mike DeWine has said that positive cases at schools do not necessarily mean wrongdoing by districts, but that schools tend to reflect the virus’s spread in the outside community.
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