The Delaware Public Health District is reporting Delaware County has now exceeded 20,000 people who have come down with COVID-19.

Wednesday’s COVID-19 weekly report from the district said there were 20,368 total cases with 948 placed in isolation within the last 10 days; 37 average new cases per day per 100,000 population; and 27,381 total vaccine doses administered by the health district.

Compare that with the district’s COVID-19 weekly report on Sept. 22, which said there were 19,947 total cases with 906 people placed in isolation with the last 10 days; 41 average new cases per day per 100,000 population; and 27,364 total vaccine doses administered by the DPHD.

The health district also said the county continues to fail on four out of five factors on its latest COVID-19 Critical Factor report card, issued on Wednesday. Those factors are the level of community transmission (255 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week); the positivity rate (10.6%); capacity for early detection of increases in cases (210 new cases per 100,000 county public school staff and students in the past week); and the latest, health system capacity (25% of ICU patients with COVID-19).

“We continue to advise everyone to wear a mask in public indoor settings and in crowded areas, regardless of vaccination status,” the DPHD posted on Facebook on Sept. 22 and Sept. 29.

The one area that is considered satisfactory of the critical factors is COVID-19 vaccination coverage (full vaccination series completed) at 64.6%.

DPHD continues to offer drive-thru and walk-in clinics around the county for the public to receive the flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

Walk-in COVID-19 clinics open to the public will take place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the Elm Valley Fire District Touch-a-Truck Event, 9821 U.S. Route 42, Ashley; 5:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at Grace Clinic, 40 S. Franklin St., Delaware; 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 27 at CoHatch, 18 E. William St., Delaware; and 11:15 a.m.-noon Oct. 28 at Scioto Township Hall, 3737 Ostrander Road, Ostrander.

There will be a drive-thru clinic from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 19 at Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 7991 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center. Appointments are needed for the drive-thru clinic and can be made by visiting https://forms.delawarehealth.org/Forms/flucovid and using code flucovid2021 or calling 740-368-1700 and selecting option 5.

The Ohio Department of Health’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics show Delaware County continues to lead the state’s 88 counties in vaccination rates. A total of 141,168 residents, or 67.49% of the county’s population, has started on the vaccine. Only one other county is at 60%; and statewide, nearly 54% of Ohioans (6.3 million people) have started on their shots.

Delaware also leads the state in percent who have completed the vaccination, at 64.46%.

On Sept. 22, the ODH updated its COVID-19 breakthrough chart. This year, there have been 26,063 hospitalizations and 7,862 deaths among individuals who were not fully vaccinated. Only 851 Ohioans were hospitalized and 113 deaths were reported among those who were fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control’s COVID-19 County Check tracker said Wednesday, “In Delaware County, Ohio, community transmission is High. Everyone should wear a mask in public indoor settings.”

The CDC’s COVID-19 page shows that cases and deaths in the United States have risen over the last 30 days. As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been 43 million total cases of the coronavirus in the United States. There have been 689,534 Americans who have died from COVID-19, more than 16,000 in the past week. There have been 391.1 million total vaccines administered, up nearly 5 million in the past week. An estimated 77% of adults in the U.S. have at least one vaccination.