Oberlin College Updates

On Monday, the College announced that the outdoor mask mandate and restrictions on indoor dining had been lifted after a successful first two weeks of classes. Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 17, Oberlin has had four positive cases. All students were required to receive a COVID-19 test upon their arrival on campus. Since then, only unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff have been tested weekly.

As of Oct. 18, 96.7 percent of students, 93.5 percent of faculty, and 83.1 percent of staff have been vaccinated.

Everyone in the campus community was required to be vaccinated by Oct. 7. The College offered exemptions on the basis of health or religion.

Lorain County Updates

Lorain County’s COVID-19 caseload has been decreasing over the last month. From Sept. 23 to Oct. 21, the county reported 3,334 cases and 147 hospitalizations.

However, local hospitals are still feeling the burden of COVID-19. Last week, according to Mercy Health – Lorain Chief Nursing Officer Charlotte Wray, about 75 percent of people in the Intensive Care Unit in Lorain Hospital had COVID-19.

Lorain County has ordered doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5–11 and started to schedule clinics for them. Health officials estimate that the Food and Drug Administration will make this age group eligible for vaccinations in the next two weeks.

As of yesterday, 58.88 percent of Lorain County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 51.33 percent have completed the entire vaccination series.

Statewide Updates

The Ohio Department of Health reported 124,068 new statewide COVID-19 cases in the last month. Cases in Ohio have been trending downward since mid- September.

ODH reported last Thursday that while hospitals are overburdened by COVID-19 cases, the incidence of the Delta variant appears to be plateauing in the state.

Ohio is at 419 cases per 100,000 residents, down from last week’s 507. Rates above 100 are considered “high incidence” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of yesterday, 54.9 percent of Ohio residents have started the COVID-19 vaccination process and 51.3 percent have taken both doses of the vaccine.

More information on COVID-19 in Ohio is available through the ODH and Lorain County Public Health websites, where case numbers are updated every weekday at 2 p.m