With dirt under his nails, Frank Keith Malinowski s hands gripped the frame around his sister s portrait.
The photo was taken on his wedding day. Her blue eyes gleamed against her dark, tightly curled hair. Her purple lace dress covered one shoulder. She kept commenting that day, that s the most beautiful dress she ever had, Keith said.
At his feet, stuck into the dirt and the grass, was a smaller copy of the same photo. For the time being, the tiny white placard with her portrait marks her grave site.
Jamie Malinowski was 34 years old when COVID-19 took her life Nov. 8.
COVID-19 in Ohio: Akron-Canton area adds 2,836 cases as state reconciles data
USA TODAY NETWORK
Here are Tuesday s Ohio Department of Health coronavirus reports for the area, including a statewide backlog of approximately 13,000 antigen tests.
Reconciliation of the state data occurred on top of a surge of cases that has put much of Northeast Ohio at the most severe alert level. Especially in light of the deviation from the state s usual reporting methods, Tuesday s daily average covering the past three weeks offers a more realistic day-to-day picture of the recent coronavirus spread. The 21-day average is 9,408 for new cases, 351 for hospitalizations and 63 for deaths.