COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine used a national TV interview on Sunday to ask for federal help increasing Ohio’s coronavirus testing capacity, including making a direct appeal to anyone at the U.S. Food and Health Administration who may have been watching.
DeWine, appearing alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said Ohio needs additional supplies used to perform tests for COVID-19.
DeWine, a Republican, referenced back to an episode three weeks ago in which he successfully got President Donald Trump to intercede in granting approving a mask-cleaning technology developed by an Ohio research firm. He also reiterated comments he made on Friday, calling on federal help with increasing Ohio’s testing capacity.
“I could probably double, maybe even triple testing in Ohio virtually overnight if the FDA would prioritize companies that are putting a slightly different formula together on the extraction reagent kit,” he said, referring to chemicals used to perform the tests. “…We have a worldwide shortage of the materials that go into this. We really need help. Anybody who’s in the FDA watching this, this would really take our capacity up, literally overnight, and that’s what we need to get right in Ohio.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence, asked about frustration from DeWine and other governors about the lack of testing resources, said in a separate interview on the same program that states already have the resources needed to ramp up testing.
He said federal officials would lay out the details in a planned call with governors on Monday.
“We look forward with continuing to partner with governors all across the country as we continue to scale testing,” Pence said. “Because we really believe that, while we’re doing 150,000 tests a day now, that if states around the country will activate all of the laboratories that are available in their states, we could more than double that overnight and literally be doing hundreds of thousands of more tests per day in a very short period of time.”
DeWine also was asked about the handful of protests at the Ohio Statehouse in the past week or so criticizing Ohio’s coronavirus closures. A group of hundreds protested in Columbus on Saturday.
As he did in an interview with National Public Radio on Saturday, DeWine diplomatically declined to comment directly on President Donald Trump’s Friday tweets egging on similar protests in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia, which all have Democratic governors carrying out protocols recommended by the federal government.
“The only thing I’ve asked our protesters to do is observe social distancing,” DeWine said. “We’re all big believers in the First Amendment. They were protesting against me yesterday. That’s fine. They have every right to do that.”
Without laying out many specifics, DeWine has said his administration is working to roll back coronavirus-related closures beginning on May 1, while continuing to be on guard for future outbreaks of COVID-19. He’s faced increasing political pressure over the closures, including from Republican state lawmakers, as Ohio’s economy has deteriorated as a result.
“We’re going to do what we think is right,” DeWine said. “And that is try to open this economy, but do it very, very carefully so we don’t get a lot of people killed.”
DeWine tweeted later Sunday sharing news of a “very positive phone call” he’d had with the FDA.
Read other recent coverage from cleveland.com:
Hundreds protest in Columbus against Ohio coronavirus restrictions
Ohio coronavirus deaths increase to 451, with 10,222 infections: Saturday update
Ohioans describe common glitches, frustrations with state unemployment filing system
Gov. Mike DeWine facing increasing pressure from state lawmakers to roll back coronavirus closures