COLUMBUS, Ohio -A 53-year-old man from Stark County has tested positive for coronavirus -- Ohio’s fourth case, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday afternoon.

“This is the first case of community spread," he said.

That means the man did not travel to a country where there is a coronavirus epidemic -- in this situation, the Stark County man didn’t have a history of travel outside the U.S. -- and he didn’t have known contact with someone with COVID-19.

“This means as of today we’ve moved into a new phase of this crisis,” he said.

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, a licensed preventive medicine physician, said that once there are two cases of community spread, it can be assumed that 1% of the population is infected.

Acton said the onset of the man’s illness was Feb. 25.

“Presently the patient is hospitalized, under appropriate care at Mercy Medical Center" in Canton, she said.

The patient had extensive contact with several people, and public health officials are tracking them down.

In addition to the four confirmed cases, as of Wednesday afternoon, there were 24 people currently being tested and 21 people who have tested negative for the disease.

“We’re going to see more cases,” Acton said.

Ohio’s first three confirmed coronavirus cases were announced Monday afternoon. All three are from suburban Cuyahoga County.

The three patients are still in isolation at their homes, Acton said.

Nursing homes

Acton is issuing an order Wednesday afternoon limiting nursing home residents to one visitor a day.

“We’re also ordering that nursing homes set up a log," DeWine said, "if they don’t already have one: who’s in, who’s out.”

That includes staff and vendors.

Order on mass gatherings

In the next several days, Acton will also issue an order limiting mass gatherings, DeWine said.

"Different organizations, quite candidly, need an order from the governor,” DeWine said, saying it could be for legal reasons and advice from attorneys.

He said it will cover NCAA events in Dayton and Cleveland, and spectators will be prohibited. Television and radio crews, as well as sports writers, will be allowed to attend, he said.

DeWine said that he didn’t want to go into the order’s details, saying it’s a work in progress. DeWine didn’t commit to how large of a crowd would be considered a mass gathering.

“That will be taken care of in the next 24, 36 hours,” he said.

Not becoming ‘another Italy’

“The reason we’re doing the things that we’re doing is we have the potential of becoming Italy,” DeWine said.

In Italy, the number of infections rose from nine people to thousands in just weeks, he said.

DeWine said he’s cleared his schedule and he’s focusing on the coronavirus. His office is using more teleconferencing and phones instead of in-person meetings. He’s encouraging his cabinet to also use the technology.

“None of this is fun,” he said. “Each one of us I think has to take responsibility," he said.

Worldwide, over 121,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus - over 4,300 have died. In the U.S., 1,050 people had confirmed coronavirus, and 29 have died.

Effects in Ohio

Since the first Ohio cases, DeWine declared a state of emergency, which affects state bidding and allows the Ohio Department of Health to create diagnostic guidelines and, if necessary, restrict work and business travel, among other provisions.

On Tuesday, DeWine asked that high school, college and professional athletic indoor events be held without spectators. He also cautioned against outdoor gatherings such as parades and asked colleges to hold classes online only.

On Wednesday morning, Cleveland announced it had canceled the popular St. Patrick’s Day parade. The Cleveland International Film Festival was also canceled.

“Logical decisions”

DeWine said that the situation is serious from a public health standpoint, since asymptomatic people can spread the disease, and that older people are more likely to die from coronavirus than younger people.

Generally speaking, DeWine and Acton recommended that Ohioans only travel or attend large events when necessary. Refrain when it’s not.

“We are operating under the assumption that if people understand the facts, and really understand how dangerous this is, logical people will make logical decisions,” he said. “And that is much more important than how far an order we issue, because there’s a limit to what government can do.”

Other coronavirus coverage:

4th confirmed coronavirus case in Ohio: Ohio Department of Health

Cleveland International Film Festival cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

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Rabbi who tested positive for coronavirus spent time at Beachwood’s Fuchs Mizrachi School

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