COVID-19 hospitalizations at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital have dipped below 20 for the first time since Nov. 19, 2021, officials announced Thursday. There have been no COVID admissions for the past two days, they said.
The infographic below illustrates the number of COVID-19-positive patients in OH hospitals as of 8 a.m. Thursday. The report shows 19 cases at OHRH — the hospital’s lowest mark in over three months. (The report also shows a total of 5 cases at the other two hospitals in the OH system.
The Owensboro Health COVID-19 infographic has been redesigned to illustrate the most relevant information available, officials announced previously.
“In addition to the visual dot graph, important numbers are now explained in percentages so viewers can understand them at a glance. We’ve also included an info box that answers a frequent question about the definition of ‘fully vaccinated,’ and patients are now broken into three categories: not fully vaccinated, fully vaccinated and boosted. The majority of patients hospitalized at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital for COVID-19 are overdue for a vaccine booster, which offers better protection against severe illness and death from the Omicron variant,” OH officials said in a Feb. 17 Facebook post.
Hospital leaders said via a Facebook post Thursday that the decline in hospitalizations over the last few reports are a positive sign that Owensboro Health “may be turning a corner in its two-year fight against the pandemic, but diligence is still needed in the weeks ahead.”
“We have expected that late winter will bring lower COVID volumes and a bit of a respite for our team,” said Dr. Michael Kelley, vice president of medical affairs for OHRH. “COVID is not leaving us, but the signals indicate we are reaching a more normalized stage of how it will be in the future. I am cautiously optimistic that we are making progress.”
This week, Owensboro Health restored on-site daily check-in meetings at OHRH and approved in-person meetings across the system (with proper precaution) — the first steps in a phased approach to easing some COVID restrictions. Kelley said more rules could be loosened in the next few weeks, if numbers continue to trend downward.
“It is still very important for everyone to remain diligent—get vaccinated, get your booster, use safety precautions. But there could be light at the end of the tunnel, if we all continue to do our part.”
OH officials are also issuing a reminder that for anyone who received their vaccine more than 5 months ago, now is the time to be boosted. Appointments can be scheduled at OwensboroHealth.org/Vaccine.
