COLUMBUS (AP) — Governor Mike DeWine is calling on the federal government to help provide crucial materials that would allow a dramatic increase in testing for coronavirus in his state — and later reported a “very positive” response from the agency concerned.
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DeWine said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Ohio hospitals doing the testing lack needed chemicals known as reagents. He said help from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would allow him to “probably double, maybe even triple testing in Ohio virtually overnight.”
DeWine later reported “a very positive phone call” from the agency.
The state health department reported Sunday there were over 11,000 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 471 deaths
Infectious disease experts and engineers at Ohio State were part of a national team of scientists who developed a nasal swab, a key part of the kits necessary to test for the virus that causes COVIS-19.
Formlabs, a 3D “printing farm” based in Wood County on Friday delivered a shipment of 15,000 swabs to OSU where they will be sanitized in labs at the College of Dentistry, then moved to the OSU Wexner Medical Center or use in test kits.
Ohio State has also used its own 3D printers across campus to produce the swabs.
Quantifying the virus’s reach has been difficult in part because the number of available tests are limited. Having more swabs is one step toward having more tests,
Scientists also worked with a medical center anesthesiologist to develop a clear three-sided box that can help protect health care providers from viral particles in a COVID-19 patient’s cough or sneeze.