MIAMI COUNTY — Miami County Public Health (MCPH) officials reported one new COVID-19 case in the 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday, bringing the total to 139 cases.
No more deaths have been recorded, which leaves the county at 27 deaths, according to MCPH officials. A total of 22 long-term care deaths have been recorded with five deaths attributed to community spread, MCPH officials said.
The county also remains at 49 people from the total cases having been hospitalized.
On Thursday, Kettering Medical Center announced it is participating in an expanded access clinical trial for the antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown in preliminary trials to help COVID-19 patients recover more quickly.
The other Kettering Health Network hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients are in the process of applying for acceptance into the trial.
Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, reported Wednesday that preliminary results of a randomized trial showed an earlier recovery in patients treated with the antiviral drug compared to a placebo. The recovery time was an average of 11 days versus 15 days, an improvement of 31 percent, according to a press release from KHN.
“We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking clinical trial,” said Dr. Patrick Lytle, vice president of Clinical Outcomes for Kettering Health Network. “Initial results are very promising, and with more testing, we can further determine remdesivir’s safety and effectiveness.”
Ohio Department of Health Dr. Amy Acton spoke Wednesday on remdesivir, saying the drug is promising to help coronavirus patients. She cautioned, however, there is no stockpile of the drug that she is aware of, and it could quickly become scarce.
“People can just be going along that first week and then tank. The overwhelming inflammation that is associated with the disease … we’re seeing beyond the lung disease, we’re seeing strokes … we’re seeing affects all over the body. Having something like this in our arsenal would be wonderful, especially for the sickest,” Acton said.
In Ohio, there are 18,027 total COVID-19 cases with 724 new cases identified in the 24 hours from 2 p.m. Wednesday to Thursday.
In the state, there have been 975 total deaths, according to Acton. There were 38 deaths recorded in the same 24-hour time period.
There have been 3,533 hospitalizations in the state with 1,035 of those being intensive care admissions. Ohio saw 112 hospital admissions in the Wednesday to Thursday 24-hour period. Acton said 20 percent of all cases end in hospitalization, with 6 percent of those ending in intensive care admission.
The age range of those affected by the virus is from under the age of 1 to 106 years old with a median range of 51. The virus has affected 56 percent men and 43 percent women in the state with 1 percent not reported.
The state has now tested more than 133,148 people for the coronavirus.
For more information, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call (833) ASK-ODH.
