COLUMBUS – A surge in COVID-19 cases in Franklin County has short-circuited the planned reopening of a popular attraction.
COSI, which had planned to reopen to members today after being closed because of the pandemic, and to the general public on July 15, announced that it was delaying its reopening, according to a statement released Wednesday morning.
After careful consideration of the current COVID-19 situation in Franklin County, COSI has made the difficult decision to delay its planned reopening. COSI has undertaken this action out of concern for the health and safety of its Members, Guests, and Team. The Ohio Public Health Advisory Alert System currently ranks Franklin County as an Alert Level 3, indicating a very high exposure and spread of coronavirus, and the State of Ohio has announced that Franklin County is currently approaching Alert Level 4. -COSI statement
Museum officials will continue to monitor the situation along with state and local health officials.
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The Ohio Department of Health is warning consumers about the presence of hand sanitizers that contain unlisted methanol as an ingredient.
Methanol is a toxic alcohol that can cause poisoning when absorbed through the skin and blindness or death when swallowed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found the ingredient or suspects it may be present in 17 products manufactured by Mexican-based companies Eskbiochem SA de CV; AAA Cosmetica; Grupo Insoma, S.A.P.I de CV; Soluciones Cosmeticas SA de CV; Transliquid Technologies; and Tropicosmeticos SA de CV.
See a full list of product names here.
The agency is working with manufacturers and distributors on a voluntary recall of the products.
Most commercially available alcohol-based hand sanitizers or rubs contain either ethanol or isopropanol as active ingredients. Methanol, or wood alcohol, is not an acceptable active ingredient.
Repeated use of methanol-containing hand sanitizer on the skin may result in methanol poisoning.
The agency says consumers should check their hand sanitizer against products on the list. If a product is on the list, stop using it and dispose of it in appropriate hazardous waste containers. Do not flush it or pour it down the drain.
Seek immediate medical attention and call the National Poison Control Center Hotline (1-800-222-1222) if they have swallowed hand sanitizer or are experiencing symptoms from repeated use of one of the listed products. Symptoms include headache, blurred vision or blindness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of coordination, and decreased alertness.
Never swallow any hand sanitizer and use it only for its intended purpose — to clean hands.
Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizers out of the reach of children and supervise use.
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The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has announced the reopening of in-person visitation at select facilities.
Six facilities have received approval to re-open outdoor-only visitation, with indoor locations established for circumstances such as inclement weather.
Visiting at Dayton Correctional Institution began last week. Madison Correctional Institution (Zone B only), Noble Correctional Institution, and Southeastern Correctional Institution were scheduled to resume visitation on July 8.
Grafton Correctional Institution and Warren Correctional Institution are currently expected to resume visitation on July 19 and July 26, respectively and indoor visiting will also resume at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown on July 15. Because of its security no-contact visiting procedures have already been established, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.