COVID-19 cases in Highland County have gone down considerably, according to the New York Times COVID Tracker. The tracker said Tuesday that the county was seeing 6.4 new cases per day, which is about 14 cases per 100,000 in population.

The last time The Times-Gazette reported on COVID-19 data, which was on Sept. 19, The New York Times COVID Tracker said the county was seeing 10 new cases per day, about 37 cases per 100,000 in population.

The tracker gave some of the latest trends for the county. It said that the community level of COVID-19 in the county is “low” based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) update on Sept. 29.

However, it said the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has risen in the county, with deaths staying about the same. It also said that the test positivity rate for the county is “very high.”

“Higher test positivity rates are a sign that many infections are not reported — even if they are tested for at home,” the tracker said. “This results in a more severe under count of cases. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID is a more reliable measure because testing is more consistent in hospitals.”

The update also said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the county has seen a total of 12,502 reported cases, and at least one in four residents have been infected.

The New York Times COVID-19 Tracker gave a COVID-19 update on Sept. 30 for the U.S. as well. It said daily announced cases have fallen at the national level, but regional increases have popped up that could “halt that progress.

The tracker said cases in most Northeastern states have seen 10 percent or more case increases in the last two weeks, with Western states like Montana, Washington and Oregon seeing increases as well.

Considering hospitalizations, the tracker said they have increased in the above states too, but have decreased at the national level. Also, it said deaths “remain troubling high” but have also fallen about 11 percent in the last two weeks.

In other news, Highland County’s COVID-19 case rate stood at 259.9 cases per 100,000 in population over the previous two weeks, according to the Ohio Department of Health Coronavirus Dashboard, which was last updated Thursday. The case rate was above the state average of 194.7 cases per 100,000 in population over the same period, and ranks the county 28th among the state’s 88 counties in terms of the highest case rates.

In terms of vaccinations, Highland County is currently at 40.70 percent of the county’s residents that have started their vaccines, according to the ODH COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard, which was last updated on Thursday. The state average for “vaccine started” is 63.93 percent.

In terms of completed vaccines, the state average is 59.26 percent, while the Highland County average is 37.74 percent.

The dashboard also said there have been 7,810 “first booster” doses and 1,726 “second booster” doses administered in the county on or after Aug. 12, to people that were already fully vaccinated.

It also said 445 people from Highland County have received the “updated bivalent booster.”

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.