Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio’s chief medical officer, said that “it is clear” Ohio and the rest of the country are going through another wave of COVID-19, according to a Thursday update from Gov. Mike DeWine.

Vanderhoff also said the wave is being driven by new variants of the original strain, which are “more contagious and more deadly.” The variant case count in Ohio has gone up from 92 on March 12 to 797 Thursday, which is “a doubling time of about every nine to 10 days,” according to Vanderhoff.

“We are moving in the wrong direction from our statewide goal of 50 cases per 100,000 people,” DeWine said. “We are not seeing the runaway case growth we saw during the fall yet, so we can still turn this around if more people continue to get vaccinated and we continue to mask and social distance.”

DeWine said in the update that Ohio’s case rate has increased again, this time going up to 183.7 cases per 100,000 in population. Fifty-three counties have seen their case rates increase.

According to Ohio Department of Health Public Health Advisory System, which was last updated on Thursday, Highland County has 106.58 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in population on a 14-day average. It is also still listed in a “Red” Level 3 Public Emergency, meaning there is “very high exposure and spread” in the county and people should limit their activities as much as possible.

Since the pandemic began, Highland County has had 3,446 total COVID-19 cases, 182 hospitalizations, 58 deaths and 3,302 presumed recovered from the virus, according to the dashboard.

In terms of vaccines, numbers in Highland County continue to rise, according to new statistics released by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) on Thursday.

The dashboard said 22.11 percent of the population in Highland County has started its vaccinations, equaling 9,541 residents. The ODH considers started as “when an individual has received at least one valid dose of COVID-19 vaccine.”

The dashboard lists the following COVID-19 figures for various age groups in Highland County:

* 0-19 — 68 people, or 0.61 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 20-29 — 375 people, or 7.60 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 30-39 — 592 people, or 12.28 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 40-49 — 898 people, or 17.04 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 50-59 — 1,680 people, or 29.01 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 60-64 — 1,298 people, or 42.60 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 65-69 — 1,336 people, or 51.60 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 70-74 — 1,224 people, or 57.36 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 75-79 — 893 people, or 59.45 percent, have started their vaccines.

* 80 and over — 1,177 people, or 60.58 percent, have started their vaccines.

According to the dashboard, 15.54 percent of the population in Highland County has completed its vaccinations, equaling 6,708 people. The ODH considers completed when “an individual has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses and is considered fully immunized.”

The dashboard lists the following COVID-19 figures for various age groups in Highland County:

* 0-19 — 18 people, or 0.16 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 20-29 — 197 people, or 3.99 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 30-39 — 343 people, or 7.11 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 40-49 — 484 people, or 9.19 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 50-59 — 837 people, or 14.45 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 60-64 — 837 people, or 27.47 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 65-69 — 1,062 people, or 41.02 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 70-74 — 1,068 people, or 50.05 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 75-79 — 794 people, or 52.86 percent, have completed their vaccines.

* 80 and over — 1,068 people, or 54.97 percent, have completed their vaccines.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.