COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio schools this week reported fewer than 3,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a month, as weekly cases among students and staff continue to decline since the winter holidays.

The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday reported 2,907 new cases of COVID-19 among K-12 students and staff members, bringing the state’s total this school year to 58,171. New cases are from the week ending Sunday, Feb. 7, and include infections caught in and out of school.

This week’s increase is the lowest since Jan. 7, when 1,134 new cases were reported over the two weeks after Christmas. Before that, the last time schools reported fewer than 3,000 cases in a week was Nov. 12.  

Cumulative COVID-19 cases reported by Ohio schools:

  • Sept. 17: 319
  • Sept. 24: 739 (+420)
  • Oct. 1: 1,274 (+535)
  • Oct. 8: 1,870 (+596)
  • Oct. 15: 2,739 (+869)
  • Oct. 22: 3,826 (+1,087)
  • Oct. 29: 5,058 (+1,232)
  • Nov. 5: 7,068 (+2,010)
  • Nov. 12: 9,876 (+2,808)
  • Nov. 19: 14,593 (+4,717)
  • Nov. 26: 19,302 (+4,709)
  • Dec. 3: 23,052 (+3,750)
  • Dec. 10: 28,218 (+5,166)
  • Dec. 17: 33,499 (+5,281)
  • Dec. 24: 36,547 (+3,048)
  • Dec. 31: Data largely discrepant, likely due to lack of reporting over holidays
  • Jan. 7: 37,681 (+1,134 over two weeks)
  • Jan. 14: 44,216 (+6,535)
  • Jan. 21: 48,009 (+3,793)
  • Jan. 28: 51,908 (+3,899)
  • Feb. 4: 55,264 (+3,356)
  • Feb. 11: 58,171 (+2,907)

Schools report cases among students and staff to ODH on Tuesdays, reflecting the week ending on the previous Sunday. ODH releases numbers on Thursdays at 2 p.m.


Case criteria

  • Full-time or part-time students and staff who have tested positive for or been diagnosed with COVID-19. Infections were caught in and out of school.
  • Staff members include teachers, administrators, coaches and support staff.
  • Excludes students/staff who are completely remote, but includes them if they were “on-site” while infectious.

    • ODH reports “new” and “cumulative” cases. Cases only move over to “cumulative” once the person is no longer COVID-positive. NBC4’s count of new cases every week reflects the change in “cumulative” cases. More info

    1,487 (54%) of 2,774 schools, districts, private schools, vocational schools, preschools and other non-college institutions that the state tracks have reported cases. That is just two more schools than last week.

    36,910 (63%) of Ohio’s school cases are students and 21,261 (37%) are staff members, which include teachers, administrators, coaches and support staff.

    Cincinnati Public Schools, a district of more than 34,000 students, leads the state with 924 cases. Six Columbus area school districts are in the top 10.

    DeWine stresses March 1 re-openings after vaccinations

    Ohio is wrapping up its second of four weeks vaccinating school staff with the goal of getting more schools open five days a week starting March 1.

    Schools in central Ohio’s Coshocton, Guernsey, Hardin, Hocking, Monroe, Pike and Union counties begin vaccinations next week.

    As new coronavirus cases decline across the state, more schools are already moving more learning back into physical classrooms. Nearly 1 in 3 public school districts are learning fully in person, and just 5% are still fully remote, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

    “We are really moving in the right direction getting our kids back in school, and we're very happy about that,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday at his coronavirus briefing.

    All but one public district committed to moving to hybrid or 5-day-in-person learning by March 1 so they could vaccinate their staff. But with some districts planning those moves for later in March or even after spring break, DeWine stressed on-time returns to classrooms.

    “I would just urge anyone who's making these decisions, please, we need your back end by March 1,” the governor said, “and I want to congratulate the schools that are starting.”