3 coronavirus patients treated at UH; 6 caregivers now being tested for COVID-19

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All three people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Cuyahoga County were treated at University Hospitals.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Six University Hospitals caregivers are now being tested for the novel coronavirus, the health system said in a press release Tuesday.

The six professionals, who were in close contact with the three patients in Cuyahoga County who tested positive with the novel coronavirus, are in home isolation and being monitored, UH said.

The Ohio and Cuyahoga departments of health reported these three patients had been exposed to COVID-19 outside of the state. They are in home quarantine and are being monitored by the Ohio Department of Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. No patients have been hospitalized for COVID-19, UH said.

The patients initially went to their primary care physicians, where they were screened using the COVID-19 protocol, and sent to UH Cleveland Medical Center’s emergency room. There, they were met by infectious disease healthcare providers wearing eye protection, gowns, gloves and N95 masks, UH said.

The patients were examined in negative pressure rooms, which ensures the virus does not escape the room. The air in negative pressure rooms vents to the outside, instead of inside the hospital.

Test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were reported to the Ohio Department of Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. UH was alerted to the COVID-19 results on Monday.

UH did not provide any further information about the patients or caregivers, due to confidentiality.

No new novel coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday in Ohio, but the number of people being tested in the state tripled.

The Ohio Department of Health’s website listed 15 Ohioans currently being tested for COVID-19. This is the highest number of people in the state being tested for the respiratory illness since its outbreak nearly a month ago.

The Ohio Department of Health began testing for COVID-19 on Saturday and has the capacity to test about 300-400 people. Other private companies, including LabCorp and Quest also will be offering tests. Before that, only a handful of people had been tested.

Of Monday’s confirmed cases, all three are in Cuyahoga County but none are in the city of Cleveland, health officials said. Two people were on a cruise in Egypt, and the other was at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C. All are aged 54-56. Two cases involve men, and the other case involves a woman.

One of the three people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Ohio is a male employee of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, located in Cleveland Heights. Four Hawken School students who traveled last week to a conference in Washington, D.C., with a man who has tested positive for coronavirus are self-quarantined, according to the school.

The students, who attend Hawken’s Upper School campus in Gates Mills, traveled to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on the same bus with an employee of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.

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