COLUMBUS – About 5% of novel coronavirus tests have come back positive, but the state’s top health official cautioned against reading too much into the testing numbers.

At least 14,764 tests have been administered, according to data voluntarily reported to the Ohio Department of Health. The state reported 704 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, on Wednesday afternoon. Of those, 182 have been hospitalized including 75 receiving treatment in intensive care units.

Two more people have died, bringing the total number to 10.

The agency gave the “total test” number on Wednesday for the first time since March 15.

The agency had not been reporting negative test results or total test numbers because they are not required to be reported to the state. Positive tests must be reported immediately.

Department Director Dr. Amy Acton has said the tests are the tip of the iceberg. Generally, tests are being given primarily to patients who are hospitalized, at-risk for complications from the virus and health care workers.

But Acton said Wednesday that the testing pool could include many outside of those groups. In the early days of testing, she said, the state lab was following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for who to test. But as more hospitals and private labs began testing, the criteria for testing may have loosened.

Ohio received its first test kit on Feb. 7, but they were faulty. That made Ohio the second to last state to get testing. Acton said test components such as swabs are in low supply.

“This data, which we’ll be using to drive so much in the months and years to come, will become much stronger for us once we have widespread testing available,” Acton said during a Wednesday news conference with Gov. Mike DeWine.

Advice to businesses

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said the state has been flooded with questions about the state's stay-at-home order, especially about what's considered an essential business. The order took effect Tuesday.

Husted's suggestion: read the order.

He also suggested businesses create a document justifying why they're considered essential, based on the order. And they should document how they're following the safe workplace guidelines, which will be "with us for a long time," Husted said.

How did the state settle on the two dozen or so categories of exemptions from the order? DeWine said they followed the direction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and also included businesses that are part of the supply chain for others that must stay open, such as grocery stores.

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DeWine said businesses should start with the assumption they should close. He said the state is taking action against a company Wednesday, though he declined to be more specific.

A spokesman also declined to provide details but said it is a "developing situation" and the administration is weighing legal options.

DeWine also said he has "thought about" a moratorium on evictions and urged landlords not to evict people who can't pay during this time. The problem with a blanket ban on evictions, he said, is that sometimes they're for reasons other than non-payment, such as removing a dangerous person from the home.

A Reds tie and Tik Tok

DeWine has given some thought to his tie choice during the daily news briefings. He's worn University of Dayton and Ohio State University ties. On Wednesday, he wore a baseball tie. He said he would wear a Reds tie Thursday in honor of what would have been Opening Day. He plans to wear a Cleveland Indians tie on Friday.

"We will play baseball again," DeWine said. "We just have to hang in there and get through this."

DeWine also plugged a Procter & Gamble collaboration with a Tik Tok star meant to get the "stay at home" message out to a younger audience.