COLUMBUS – Columbus police say they had to break up two parties held on the South Side over the weekend in defiance of stay-at-home orders and directives limiting gatherings to 10 people or less.
Late Saturday night, officers responded to a complaint about loud noise at an Airbnb in the 1200 block of Oakwood Avenue where they were told “only a couple of people” were attending, according to a post on the Columbus Division of Police Twitter feed.
A half-hour later, they were called back to the address on a report of a large fight and found more than 30 people inside and outside of the home, Sgt. Timothy Davis wrote on the social media site.
Shortly after the officers dispersed the party-goers, they were called to another Airbnb on Jackson Street where a man told them approximately 60 people were gathered.
When officers knocked at the door, they say someone threw an object, which turned out to be a loaded handgun, out of an upstairs window into the yard next door.
Officers saw several people run out the back door carrying weapons and a neighbor told them that someone loaded several rifles into an SUV.
One man was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and three guns were recovered, two of which Davis says were reported stolen.
-0-
The state Health Department’s tally, updated Sunday, indicates more than 6,600 cases of the coronavirus in Ohio and 253 deaths. The pandemic has caused nearly 2,000 hospitalizations in Ohio, with about 600 people needing treatment in the intensive care unit.
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).
Click here for the latest information:
Ohio Department of Health coronavirus website
Ohio COVID-19 Dashboard displays the most recent preliminary data
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-0-
Two inmates at the Franklin County Correctional Center II on Jackson Pike tested positive for COVID-19.
Staff members quarantined a male inmate after discovering he was exhibiting potential symptoms of coronavirus on April 5, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said.
The following day, a second inmate was also quarantined.
“We knew this was a possibility,” Baldwin said. “We had protocols and plans in place, and the corrections staff surpassed even our highest expectations to respond quickly and take measures to protect everyone’s health and safety.”
Both inmates were isolated and then tested for COVID-19. The FCSO received the test results late Friday evening, Baldwin said.
At this time, both inmates have remained isolated, and are recovering.
-0-
Beginning Wednesday, COTA will require riders to wear secure masks covering their faces on all transit vehicles. Masks can be medical, homemade, scarves or bandanas, as long as they are secure and cover the nose and mouth.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health recommend masks to be worn in public because they can help prevent those with the COVID-19 virus from passing it onto others.
“We are determined to take every step we can in order to protect the health of our operators and those customers using COTA for essential travel. If customers must travel, we ask that they practice social distancing to protect themselves, other customers and operators,” said transit authority president and CEO Joanna Pinkerton.
COTA has taken multiple steps since early March to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
COTA began distributing masks to all COTA employees last week.
On April 3, COTA announced an “essential travel only” policy, limiting the use of buses to riders using them to access food, health care, travel to and from work, and caring for others.