Another Ohioan tested negative for coronavirus; health officials urge caution

Coronavirus

A thermal camera monitors shows the body temperature of people at the gate of an indoor gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 25. China and South Korea have reported cases of a new viral illness that has been concentrated in North Asia but is causing global worry as clusters grow in the Middle East and Europe. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)AP

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A seventh Ohioan tested negative for coronavirus, known as COVID-19, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

There are currently no people being tested, who are considered under investigation. (This is an update to an earlier report.)

People considered under investigation are those who have been tested for COVID-19 and whose lab results are still pending, ODH said. These are people who have symptoms of respiratory illness and have either traveled to China or been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 within 14 days of the onset of the symptoms, the state health department said.

Another 212 people are under public health supervision in the state, ODH said.

There are no confirmed cases of the illness in Ohio, and seven people have now tested negative, according to ODH.

Read more: Gov. Mike DeWine says Ohioans must have a sense of ‘urgency’ against coronavirus

When a person is under investigation in the state, a test swab for COVID-19 is sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said ODH spokeswoman Melanie Amato.

ODH only provides updates about potential cases on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The department stated that 212 people have been or currently are under public health supervision, meaning they have been or are currently being monitored or voluntarily quarantined in their homes, Amato said. It is a cumulative number compiled since Feb. 2. None of the 212 has ever showed signs of illness, she said.

Some of the 212 people have already completed their 14-day quarantine and are now able to move around freely, she said. The number of people currently in quarantine wasn’t immediately available.

These are people who traveled in China and passed through one of the airports that the CDC is monitoring during the COVID-19 outbreak, Amato said. These travelers had no symptoms, and were not tested for COVID-19. They were asked to comply with a voluntary 14-day quarantine when they reached their destination in Ohio.

The CDC passed on the names of these travelers to ODH. Local health departments monitor these travelers while they are in quarantine, Amato said.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to those of the flu — fever, cough and shortness of breath — that has sickened thousands and killed more than 2,700 in China, according to the World Health Organization. There is not yet a vaccine for COVID-19, nor are there any medications approved to treat it, the CDC said.

How the virus spreads or transmits, while suspected to be respiratory (coughing, sneezing), still is unknown, said Dr. Elie Saade, medical director for infection control at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. For now, the coronavirus seems to be mostly affecting older people and people who are already sick, he said.

So far, COVID-19 is concentrated in Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected, but has spread to 37 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The CDC said Tuesday that it’s inevitable the disease will spread to the community level in the U.S. and characterized the potential threat to public health in the U.S. as high. Previously, the CDC had said the risk in the U.S. was low.

There are 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., 45 of which are people repatriated to the U.S. by the State Department, including three people who had been in Wuhan and 42 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, health officials said.

On Wednesday, the CDC confirmed that a person in California who reportedly did not travel to China or have contact with another person with COVID-19 had contracted the virus.

“It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a news release, noting that it’s possible this person could have been exposed to an infected traveler.

The CDC is working with global, state and local authorities, as well as public health officials to control the spread of the disease.

“More cases are likely to be identified in the coming days, including more cases in the United States. It’s also likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including in the United States,” the CDC said.

If widespread transmission were to occur, large numbers of people could need medical care; schools, workplaces and childcare centers could see more absences; public health and health care systems could become overloaded; and infrastructure, including law enforcement, emergency medical services and transportation, could be overwhelmed, the CDC said.

This story was updated to correct information provided by ODH.

Read more COVID-19 coverage:

Protecting patients, health care workers priorities as Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and UH prepare for coronavirus

Inside the coronavirus outbreak: Former Clevelander gives account of daily life in Shanghai

Ohio economy could feel impact if China’s coronavirus outbreak continues much longer

Novel coronavirus less deadly than past epidemics, local experts say

Asian community group, worried by coronavirus-related racism, urges Clevelanders to ‘get the facts’

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