COVID-19 In Cleveland Heights: 2,600 Cases In ZIP Code

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH —There have been more than 2,600 COVID-19 cases associated with a Cleveland Heights ZIP code, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The 44118 ZIP code in Cleveland Heights has had 2,675 COVID-19 cases among residents since the pandemic began, up from 2,595 cases last week. A second ZIP code associated with the city — 44121 — has had 2,336 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, up from 2,289 last week.

The Buckeye State has seen declining numbers of newly confirmed cases, deaths and hospitalizations related to the virus. Gov. Mike DeWine thinks Ohio's strategy of vaccinating the most-vulnerable residents has led to a dip in cases. He has defended his strategy even under criticism accusing him of rolling the vaccine out too slowly and ignoring key groups of frontline workers.

"While there is a compelling case for this group and many groups to receive the vaccine as soon as possible, there is not enough vaccine supply right now to vaccinate all groups at this time. Vaccine eligibility to date has reflected Governor DeWine's goals of saving as many lives as possible and returning K-12 students to in-person instruction," a DeWine spokesperson said in response to recent critiques.

While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are declining, the Ohio Department of Health revealed they "may have underreported" 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in late 2020 and early 2021. In the coming days, Ohio's COVID-19 death count may be inflated as backlogged deaths are added to the overall tally. New quality assurance processes will be implemented to prevent further mistakes with the data, ODH officials said.