According to a new tracking system from the Ohio Department of Health, Franklin County has the most COVID-19 cases for children under 18.
The new dashboard includes information on cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Gov. Mike DeWine said the tool was created in consultation with Ohio Children's Hospital Association.
As of Sept. 17, Franklin County has 1,995 cases for children under 18. That is nearly double the cases of Hamilton County, which is second with 1,012 cases.
A total of 9,040 cases have been reported with 223 hospitalizations and one death.
The governor also announced another dashboard that tracks cases reported to schools by parents/guardians and staff.
The dashboard breaks the numbers down by county or school district and includes student and staff cases.
In Franklin County, six schools recorded cases of COVID-19:
- Columbus Academy - 1 student
- Dublin Schools - 5 students
- Groveport Madison - 1 staff member
- Hilliard Schools - 4 students and 1 staff member
- Westerville Schools - 1 student
- Worthington - 1 student
As part of the Ohio Department of Health, order schools are mandated to report cases to the local health department and then they are sent to the state.
DeWine admitted the numbers may not be in real-time and says he will work to fix it.