COLUMBUS — Ohio now confirms three deaths from the coronavirus in Cuyahoga, Erie and Lucas counties.
The Ohio Department of Health call center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to answer questions regarding COVID-19 at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
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The patient was a 91-year-old man, Ohio health director Dr. Amy Acton told reporters during a daily Statehouse briefing. No other details were released.
The Sandusky Register reports Erie County Health Commissioner Pete Schade says an 85-year-old man on a ventilator died Friday afternoon.
Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday announced that a 76-year-old Toledo-area attorney was the state’s first death.
According to the Ohio Department of Health website, there were 247 cases of COVID-19 in 33 counties Saturday afternoon with 58 patients in the hospital.
Acton says there are several patients in intensive care and some patients have been removed from ventilators.
The decision to remove a patient from a ventilator does put doctors in the position where they must decide who lives and who does not.
“We are not at that point right now in Ohio, thank goodness. Everything we’re doing and everything we’re asking is so we never get to that point,” Acton said.
Central Ohio is home to 27 of the cases,with at least 21 in Franklin County, 4 in Delaware County and 1 each in Licking and Union counties.
UPDATE: Madison County Public Health on Saturday night reported the county’s first case of COVID-19.
The Franklin County cases include 13 in Columbus and Worthington, the jurisdiction of Columbus Public Health, and 11 are in the area served by Franklin County Public Health, including 7 males and 4 females, ranging in age from 2 to 65.
The Miami County Health Department said Friday that 11 residents of Koester Pavilion Assisted Living Facility in southwest Ohio have tested positive for the virus.
Tests are still pending for another 21 people.
In Columbus, Schmidt’s has closed its flagship German Village restaurant for carryout and pickup orders effective immediately because an employee is being tested for the coronavirus as a precaution after a co-worker of the employee’s spouse tested positive.
The restaurant says it will remain closed until the statewide ban on operating restaurant dining rooms has lifted.
It continues to operate its three food trucks, which are independent of the restaurant, employs separate workers and operates out of a separate location.