COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine plan to undergo more COVID-19 tests Saturday after the governor tested positive, then negative, for the virus on Thursday, according to a statement from his office.
CORRECTION: Corrects date of third test from Friday to Saturday.
DeWine tested negative for COVID-19 hours after testing positive earlier in the day before he was to meet with President Donald Trump, according to a statement from his office.
His wife, Fran DeWine, also tested negative, as did staff members. They underwent a different type of test in Columbus — known as a PCR test — considered to be more accurate than the rapid-result test which showed DeWine to be positive for COVID-19 just ahead of a planned meeting with Trump in Cleveland.
“The PCR test looks for the specific RNA for the SARS CoV-2 — in other words, the genetic material specific for the virus that causes COVID-19. This test is known to be extremely sensitive, as well as specific, for the virus,” the governor’s office said in a statement released shortly after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, about nine hours after the announcement of the positive test.
The conflicting results underscore the problems with both kinds of tests and are bound to spur more questions about them. Many people in the U.S. can’t get lab results on the more accurate version for weeks, rather than the few hours it took the governor to find out.
DeWine, an early advocate among Republicans of wearing masks and other pandemic precautions, said he took a test arranged by the White House in Cleveland as part of standard protocol before he was to meet Trump at an airport. He had planned to join the president on a visit to the Whirlpool Corp. plant in northwest Ohio.
Instead, he received the news he tested positive, called his wife, and returned to central Ohio where he took the other test that showed him to be negative.
That test, required as part of the protocol to meet Trump, was an antigen test.
These tests represent an exciting new technology to reduce the cost and improve the turnaround time for COVID-19 testing, but they are quite new, and we do not have much experience with them here in Ohio. We will be working with the manufacturer to have a better understanding of how the discrepancy between these two tests could have occurred. -Ofc. of Gov Mike DeWine
Dewine, who is 73, said he didn’t know how he would have contracted the coronavirus and that he’s already been spending much of his time at his farm, keeping his distance from family members and staff.
DeWine said he feels fine with no symptoms. His only health concern is asthma he’s had since he was a teenager, for which he uses an inhaler daily.
The state reports 1,204 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 for a total of 98,675 with 3,652 deaths.
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The number of counties at Level 3 on the state’s four-tiered color-coded public health alert system (see map) dropped to 11 this week, though three central Ohio counties remain on the list of “red” counties, those at the second-highest level due to high rates of COVID-19 infection, according to the latest data from the Ohio Department of Health.
While three counties, including hard-hit Hamilton County, were downgraded from Level 3 to Level 2, Mercer County was added to the list of counties at Level 3 due to its rate of new cases, with 262.3 per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.
Franklin (142.5), Fairfield (121.2) and Licking (106.9) remained “in the red” as they continued to meet the CDC definition of high incidence: 100 cases per 100,000 residents over the most recent two-week period.
Franklin County Thursday reported 215 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 17,834 since the onset of the pandemic with 1,550 hospitalizations and 521 fatalities. There were 3,262 active cases of the virus in the county.
There were 51 counties at Level 2 (orange) and 26 at the lowest level of alert.
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Columbus Metropolitan Library will open most of its locations for limited services starting Monday, Aug. 10.
The Gahanna, Hilliard and Whetstone branches will open later in August, while the South High Branch remains closed for construction.
With limited services, customers can enter the building to:
Use a computer (50-minute limit)
Print, copy, scan and fax
Pick up items
Return items
Get Grab & Go Books
All customers age 2 and older are required to wear a face covering. Customers will not be able to browse CML’s collection, but library staff will be available to help find books and other materials.
Curbside pickup will remain available at all open locations for customers who prefer to use it to pick up their items.