Ohio’s rate of new COVID-19 cases decreased again over the last couple of weeks, but many local counties saw sizable increases.

According to the two-week case totals released on Thursdays by the Ohio Department of Health, Morgan County had the highest rate in the state of new cases per 100,000 people – 468.7 – from June 2-15.

With a population of 14,508, that rate is the result of 68 new cases over the last two weeks. That’s up from 51 and 52 new cases in the preceding two-week spans, when Morgan’s rate was fourth in the state.

A message left with a Morgan County Health Department representative was not immediately returned Friday.

Athens County moved up to fourth with a rate of 370.4 per 100,000 on 242 new cases among its 65,327 residents. From May 26 to June 8, Athens reported 178 new cases for a rate of 272.5, 23rd in the state.

“We have seen an influx in cases locally, and if you follow the longer term trends, cases have been rising for several weeks,” said Jack Pepper, administrator for the Athens City-County Health Department. “We are fortunate that to date our health care system is not seeing a large number of COVID-positive patients needing advanced care.”

Washington County, population 59,911, vaulted from the eighth-lowest rate in the state (146.9 per 100,000) last week to the 20th highest (280.4) in the most recent span. The actual new cases reported were 88 from May 26 to June 8 and 168 from June 2-15.

Dianna Beck, a nurse practitioner with the Marietta-Belpre Health Department, said there has been an increase in cases in some long-term care and assisted living facilities.

“My educated guess (is) that accounts for the increase here in Washington County (which) mirrors what we are seeing nationally,” she said.

Beck said new cases have increased by 8% nationwide since June 8 and the CDC has attributed that growth to the omicron variant and its sub-variants.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Health, Harmar Place in Marietta reported five cases among residents and 13 among staff from Wednesday, June 8, to Tuesday, June 14. Muskingum Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Beverly reported 21 resident cases and three among staff. Those were the largest numbers among Washington County facilities, according to the latest data available.

“We’re taking all the safety precautions that we need to and wearing all the personal protective equipment,” Hamar Place administrator Sue Boulton said.

Harmar Place is working to prevent the spread while allowing residents to continue to see family, she said.

Given how contagious the virus is, and the fact that people can be contagious without ever showing symptoms, “by the time you know that this is happening, it’s already spread,” Boulton said.

A representative for Muskingum did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday morning.

Noble County remained steady with 37 new cases among its 14,424 residents in the past two weeks (256.5 per 100,000, 27th). In the previous two-week span, Noble reported 38 new cases (263.4, 29th).

Monroe County, population 13,654, dropped from 34 new cases to 30, and its rate dipped from 249 (36th) to 219.7 (48th).

“Although Ohio’s case counts and hospitalizations remain a fraction of what we were experiencing over the winter, we’ve seen a modest rise over the past two months,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said in an online press conference Thursday. “It tells us that COVID-19 is still with us.”

Vanderhoff discussed the expected approval of COVID vaccines for children age 5 and younger and encouraged parents to talk to their children’s doctors about vaccination. He said the more Ohioans that are vaccinated, the better the chances of avoiding serious illness and disruption to daily lives.