Ohio is reporting inflated COVID case numbers due to backlog

​​​COLUMBUS, Ohio — COVID-19 case reports from the Ohio Department of Health will be inflated for several days beginning Friday due to a backlog caused by overwhelming numbers.

What You Need To Know

• Ohio’s COVID-19 case reports will be inflated for several days
• High infection numbers overwhelmed a system that records cases
• Officials did not say when the issue is expected to be resolved 

A system used to record cases reached its limits amid the ongoing virus surge, the Ohio Department of Health said in a statement.

“As COVID-19 cases have reached all-time highs, driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant, the system reached its processing capacity, resulting in a multiple-day backlog of tens of thousands of results,” the statement said. 

Ohio was averaging 19,139 cases per day as of Thursday, according to state data. On Friday, Ohio reported an artificially high tally of 41,455 new cases.

Officials said they implemented a “processing enhancement” Thursday, which means that the backlog is beginning to clear. The Ohio Department of Health said it will have greater capacity to keep up with the high numbers going forward as a result of the upgrade.

The Ohio Department of Health did not say when the problem is expected to be resolved.

“Throughout the pandemic, the Ohio Department has discovered the impacts of high user demand on antiquated technical systems. ODH continues to take steps to enhance real-time data analysis,” officials said.