SIDNEY – Shelby County has the third highest occurrence rate of COVID-19 among Ohio’s 88 counties the past two weeks, according to data released Thursday afternoon by the Ohio Department of Health.

From Dec. 23 to Jan. 5, Shelby County reported 485 new cases of COVID-19 among its 48,590 residents. That’s 998.1 cases per 100,000 residents, trailing just Monroe and Pickaway counties for the highest rate in the state.

There are almost 800 active cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s online dashboard.

The department reported there have been 3,780 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County and 20 reported deaths. A total of 2,973 residents are presumed to have recovered, leaving 787 active cases in the county.

Across Ohio, there have been 753,068 cases of COVID-19 reported. In the past 24 hours there were 10,251 new cases reported, which is higher than the 21-day average of 7,471 cases.

There have been 9,462 deaths reported in the state, including 94 in the past 24 hours. The average over the past 21 days is 75 deaths per day across the state.

Ohio has had 40,469 residents hospitalized because of COVID-19. There were 365 new hospitalizations over the past 24 hours, up from the 21-day average of 320.

On Thursday Gov. Mike DeWine announced Ohio will move to Phase 1B of its vaccine distribution on Jan. 19. In the phase vaccinations will be available to residents 80 and older who live outside of long-term care facilities.

Distribution is anticipated to expand to residents 75 and older on Jan. 25, those 70 and older on Feb. 1 and those 65 and older on Feb. 8.

On Jan. 25 vaccinations also will become available for those with severe congenital, developmental or early-onset medical disorders. On Feb. 1 vaccinations will begin for school personnel.

Thus far, Ohio’s vaccination efforts have focused on select individuals including health care workers, EMS personnel and residents and staff of long-term care facilities.

For more information about COVID-19, visit https://coronavirus.ohio.gov.