Coronavirus Pandemic: Miami U. uses wide-net testing to find asymptomatic cases; what to know today

Gov. Mike DeWine held a briefing to provide an update on the state’s response to coronavirus, including the release of the latest Public Health Advisory System map.

The following announcements have been made:

• It’s been six months since Gov. DeWine made the announcement to not allow spectators at the Arnold Classic in Columbus. “It was the right decision, it was a tough decision,” DeWine said. “It set Ohio on a good path. We have all learned a lot in that time.”
• DeWine said he spoke with Vice President Mike Pence, who told DeWine to warn Ohioans to be very careful heading into the Labor Day weekend. “What we do will determine the fall,” DeWine said. “It’s not so much where we go- it’s what we do and how we do it. It’s how we act when we’re with family and friends, it’s the precautions we take.”
• Today is the deadliest day for coronavirus in the state since June.
• The new Public Health Advisory System map was released today. Butler, Montgomery, Mercer and Preble counties are at Level 3 Red. Champaign County moved down to Level 1 Yellow.
• Montgomery County moved to the second spot in the top 10 counties in the state for occurrence of coronavirus. Butler County moved to the fourth spot. Darke (6), Shelby (7), Mercer (8) and Auglaize (10) also were included in the list.
• Ohio is launching a Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network to study wastewater at a number of sewage treatment plants to help contain the virus. “The system will give us an earlier warning sign of possible COVID-19 case increases in any given community and allow decision-makers to more quickly plan prevention and response efforts,” DeWine said.
• Miami University President Gregory Crawford discussed how Miami University is testing students in the Oxford community. The school, along with Butler County’s health district, are using a wide-net testing strategy, which allows the university to find asymptomatic cases that might lead to larger clusters of positive cases. The university has 80 contract tracers helping with Miami cases and the state also has provided 15 others.
• Miami University has been testing about 3,000 people each week through the wide-net strategy, Crawford said. The school currently has 704 positive student cases.
• FEMA will donate an additional 9 million masks to the state of Ohio. Four million of those masks to students and teachers at schools across the state including public, private, charter, parochial schools and career centers. 144,000 masks will go to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to distribute to daycare centers. 2 million masks will go to programs and organizations that help underserved groups. 1 million masks will go to higher education institutions across the state. The remaining masks will be stored until needed, DeWine said.
• DeWine discussed Thursday’s news about state’s being
• Gov. DeWine announced a new K-12 order about coronavirus case reporting will be issued today.
• The following will be included in the order:
• Beginning September 8, parents or guardians and school staff should notify their school within 24 hours of receiving a positive test or a clinical diagnosis.
• Beginning September 15, local health departments will report the number of newly reported and cumulative cases to the Ohio Department of Health every Tuesday.
• The Ohio Department of Health will publish the data by school or school district, including a breakdown by students and staff, each Thursday.

Things you need to know today, Thursday:

• DeWine: ‘We don’t want to wait’ with planning for eventual coronavirus vaccine
• The City of Dayton is encouraging people to shop at local small businesses, as part of an initiative started after another difficult time in the city. Since the middle of August, the city has been featuring small businesses on its Facebook page for its initiative, Shop Local Dayton.
• OSU students hope Trump push for football helps
• UD, Miami see cases rise as DeWine attributes back-to-school likely cause for state spike
• Coronavirus: Miami University reports 132 new active cases on Oxford campus
• ‘The most expensive thing...is an empty table;’ Alcohol sale restrictions forces restaurant to cut hours
• Back to School: Central State begins year with staggered move-in schedule
• Ohio to receive 9 million face masks from FEMA
• The University of Dayton reported a “minimal” number of students withdrew at the deadline for a full tuition refund.

LATEST UNIVERSITY DATA:

University of Dayton: 76 new cases, 639 total active cases

Miami University: 132 new cases Wednesday, 706 total cases reported

Wright State University: No new cases, 5 active cases reported

LATEST STATE DATA: As of Thursday afternoon, there have been at least 127,112 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 4,226 deaths, and 13,663 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 106,095 people are presumed to have recovered from the virus in the state.

Of the state’s cases, 21,017 are presumed to still be active.

Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

There have been 2,312,887 people tested for the coronavirus in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

A total of 13,995 health care workers have tested positive which is about 11 percent of the cases.

Cox Media Group