Maria Oramas gets the first dose of the Pzifer COVID-19 vaccine, in Miami. Florida is reporting a surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the highly contagious delta variant. Caseloads are increasing dramatically in Ohio, too. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Ohio increased for the third consecutive day.

There were 6,882 cases reported Wednesday, up from 6,814 Tuesday. There were 4,899 cases reported Monday and 4,428 Sunday.

The 6,882 COVID-19 cases Wednesday is up from the daily average of 6,562 for the past 21 days, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Wednesday’s total includes 299 cases in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties combined.

A little more than two months ago, all of Ohio was averaging about 260 cases per day.

The state had a total of 1,365,800 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday with 1,216,255 presumed recovered.

The ODH usually provides death information on Tuesdays and Fridays. There were 21,596 total COVID-19 deaths as of Tuesday.

Mahoning County had 26,963 total COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday with 23,932 presumed recovered and 639 deaths.

Trumbull County had 19,866 total COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday with 17,705 presumed recovered and 509 deaths.

Columbiana County had 11,708 total COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday with 10,065 presumed recovered and 241 deaths.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE

With 54 cases of COVID-19 identified during the week of Sept. 12-18, Youngstown State University has seen its highest numbers of positive cases since the week of Dec. 5-11, 2020.

Of the cases identified last week, 40 are students who do not live on the campus, eight are students living on campus, and six are employees, according to the YSU dashboard.

The university’s faculty union has asked for a vaccine mandate; the university has not instituted one, instead recommending vaccination, social distancing and other safety protocols. The university does have a mask mandate.

The number of students and employees identified with the virus has been increasing since the week of Aug. 22-28. The total number of cases has increased from 15 during the last week of August to 27 during the week of Aug. 29 -Sept. 4, 24 the week of Sept. 5-Sept. 11 and 54 during the week of Sept. 12-18.

The last week the COVID-19 numbers were at this level was during the week of Dec. 5-11, 2020, when 67 were people identified with the virus.

WEATHERSFIELD

The Weathersfield Local School District has implemented a mandatory mask requirement starting today. All students, staff and visitors are required to wear a facial covering regardless of vaccination status, according to a news release from the district.

“By implementing this policy, the district can maintain the health of students and their academic growth may continue uninterrupted. The district will evaluate COVID-19 cases and spread within our buildings on a daily basis and will adjust this policy as needed. We hope this will be a temporary requirement,” the release states.

VACCINATIONS

Gov. Mike DeWine said he is concerned about the number of Ohioans who are getting vaccinated — saying it’s too few. He is considering another incentive to get people to take the vaccine.

There were 6,254,196 people, 53.5 percent of the state’s population, who at least had started getting inoculated as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, including 7,184 in the previous 24 hours, according to the ODH.

In Mahoning County, 51.63 percent of the population (118,066 people) had received at least one dose, while 49.38 percent of the population in Trumbull County (97,758 people) and 42.04 percent in Columbiana County (42,829 people) had as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the ODH.

There were 5,795,717 people, 49.58 percent of the state’s population, who finished the vaccinations as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, including 6,934 in the prior 24 hours.

In Mahoning County, 47.92 percent of the population (109,582 people) had completed the process, while 45.51 percent of the population in Trumbull (90,093 people) and 39.13 percent of the population in Columbiana (39,863 people) had as of 6 a.m. Wednesday.

dskolnick@vindy.com