COLUMBUS — Ohio officials say the state still has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but test results are awaited from five people — and officials hope such tests can now be done within the state.

Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton said Saturday test results on nine people had come back negative and the state “amazingly” still had no cases — “but we will have one any day now.”

Test results on five people are awaited back, one from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two from the state health department and two from a private lab, she said.

Gov Mike DeWine said the Ohio department of health now has the ability to conduct testing with a turnaround time of eight to 24 hours. In addition, a private lab in Ohio can now do testing and another lab in the state will begin tests Monday. In about two weeks, officials expect hospitals to be able to test for the virus.

Acton said the department’s lab will prioritize tests of the elderly, those with pre-existing health conditions and compromised immune systems, and health care workers. Other tests by private labs will be done only with a doctor or health provider’s order, which could be given remotely via phone or tele-medicine.

DeWine also said the health department will now post information about the number of people under investigation seven days a week rather than only five.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

COVID-19/2019 Novel Coronavirus Overview from the CDC:

“2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV/COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. At this time, it’s unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).”

“When person-to-person spread has occurred with MERS and SARS, it is thought to have happened mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Spread of MERS and SARS between people has generally occurred between close contacts.”

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Symptoms

The symptoms of coronavirus are fever and lower respiratory tract issues, such as cough and shortness of breath, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

Travel

Anyone traveling internationally should review plans in advance of their trip, and check the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Information Page for daily updates and travel alerts.

Click here for the CDC COVID-19 Travel Information Page

Practice Good Hygiene

The CCBH recommends the following good hygiene practices to prevent coronavirus, as well as the flu, colds and other illnesses:



Sneeze or cough into the bend of your elbow to keep germs from spreading

Regularly wash your hands with soap and water/use alcohol-based hand sanitizer in between

Don’t share cups, spoons, forks, etc. with anyone

Don’t make food for anyone if you are sick

Don’t go to work or school if you are sick

Visit a doctor, urgent care or emergency department if you are sick – don’t take chances

Please contact your medical provider with any questions.

Guidance for those with compromised immune systems

Click here for specific guidance from the CCBH for anyone at higher risk for becoming ill.

Additional Resources

Cuyahoga County: See the CCBH page on coronavirus here.

Ohio Department of Health:

Click here for the Ohio Department of Health’s Coronavirus information page.

It is updated daily at 2 p.m. with the current number of confirmed cases, persons under investigation and persons under investigation who tested negative for the disease.

As of Thursday afternoon, there are zero confirmed cases in Ohio, three persons under investigation in Ohio, seven persons who have tested negative for COVID-19, and a total of 255 people who were or are under health supervision since the novel coronavirus was first reported.

More resources from ODH:

Fact sheet

Prevention infographic

Resources and information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CCBH has created this list of coronavirus-related resources from the CDC:

Homepage for COVID-19 materials and information

Fact sheet – Chinese

Fact sheet – English

Fact sheet – Spanish

Guidance for businesses

Guidance for colleges and universities

Guidance for communities and mass gatherings

Guidance for healthcare facilities

Guidance for healthcare professionals

Guidance for people with elevated risk for illness

Guidance for pregnant women

Guidance for risk assessment

Guidance for schools

Guidance for travelers

What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Chinese

What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – English

What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Spanish

If you are sick with COVID-19 – Chinese

If you are sick with COVID-19 – English

If you are sick with COVID-19 – Spanish

Preventing spread of COVID-19 at election/polling/voting locations

Prevention and treatment

Symptoms – overview

World Health Organization

Coronavirus information

Mythbusters – the truth about food, packages, pets and other things related to COVID-19

Video – What is COVID-19?

Video – What is my risk of getting COVID-19?

Video – How can I protect myself from COVID-19?