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Ohio Lawmakers Approve Bill To Change Federal Test Requirements
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — A bill to change the way Ohio does federally mandated standardized K-12 tests this year is on its way to Gov. Mike DeWine. The bill also has a change to make sure it isn’t a moot point at the end of the school year. The bill waives federal requirements on tests,… Read More

State Launches Partnership to Provide Rapid, In Home COVID-19 Testing; Curfew Will be Extended
By: Sarah Taylor | WKSU
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKSU) — Ohio’s public health departments are getting something Gov. Mike DeWine says they’ve wanted for a long time: rapid, in-home COVID-19 tests. DeWine today announced a partnership the state is entering with Abbott Labs and digital health care company, eMed to administer the rapid antigen tests. The state will spend $50 million CARES… Read More

Sewage Offers Clues To Combating Coronavirus Spread
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens learned this week that the presence of the coronavirus in its wastewater is up 10-fold since testing began early in September. The viral load in wastewater is seen as predictive, meaning that when the number goes up there could be more COVID-19 cases on the way. Think… Read More

‘Inconsistent Results’ Reported In Ohio’s Assisted Living COVID-19 Testing Program
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — The state is pausing a widespread COVID-19 testing program at assisted living facilities due to what Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) called “inconsistent results” with the baseline saliva kits. Ohio started conducting baseline saliva testing this week at assisted living facilities. DeWine said the testing will give the centers a… Read More

Coronavirus Testing Expanded To Assisted-Living Facilities
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has expanded coronavirus testing to all staff members at assisted living facilities. Lance Himes is the governor’s interim director of the Department of Health. Himes issued an order Friday that expands the testing already being done in nursing homes. The order requires all assisted living facility staff… Read More

DeWine’s Conflicting COVID Results Bring Attention To Tests In Ohio
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — There have been over a thousand new confirmed coronavirus cases in each of the last four days in Ohio, and Friday’s 33 confirmed new deaths is the highest number in a week. And attention has turned to testing after Gov. Mike DeWine got a positive result from a rapid… Read More

Facing Loss Of Ohio National Guard Help, Nursing Homes Taking On Testing
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Three quarters of Ohio’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths are from its nursing homes. Nationwide, more than 40% of coronavirus deaths are linked to long term care facilities. The nation’s nursing homes lobbying group has written to Ohio’s Mike DeWine and other governors, warning that without action now there will be more outbreaks, especially… Read More

Ohio Begins Free “Pop-Up” COVID-19 Testing
By: Claudia Cisneros
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LANCASTER, Ohio (WOUB) —The State of Ohio is now offering free COVID-19 testing for individuals, even if they don’t have symptoms or a referral from a doctor. According to Ohio Department of Health these testing opportunities are in response to the report released by the state’s Minority Health Strike Force regarding testing access in communities… Read More

Rural Ohio Valley Counties Lack Sufficient Coronavirus Tests, Report Says
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — Just 15 percent of Kentucky counties meet minimum recommended coronavirus testing levels, according to a new report from health care company Castlight. Sixty-seven percent of West Virginia counties and 31 percent of Ohio counties met the threshold. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that states have the capacity to test 1 percent… Read More

Ohio National Guard Will Bring Testing to Nursing Homes
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — There have been at least 674 deaths from coronavirus at nursing homes in Ohio, which is 43% of the state’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths. After saying for weeks that nursing home residents who have symptoms are tested but limitations prevented mass testing, there’s a plan for more tests in long-term care facilities…. Read More

WATCH: What’s the Key to U.S. Economic Recovery? Testing, says this Nobel Prize Winner
By: PBS Newshour
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsHour) — As millions more Americans file for unemployment amid an economy crippled by COVID-19, many states are lifting restrictions and reopening businesses. But is that the correct approach to reviving the U.S. economy? NewsHour’s Paul Solman talks to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer about weighing costs and benefits and why “there are no… Read More

Are Ohio Valley States Ready to Reopen? Analysis Finds More Coronavirus Testing Needed
By: Jeff Young | Becca Schimmel | Ohio Valley ReSource
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (OVR) — An analysis by Harvard scientists and NPR finds that most states — including Kentucky and Ohio — are not testing enough residents for coronavirus in order to meet recommended benchmarks to safely begin to reopen their economies. That analysis by Harvard’s Global Health Institute found that West Virginia is roughly meeting the minimum targets… Read More

Ohio Prioritizes Coronavirus Testing, DeWine Comments on Protesters
By: Lydia Taylor | WKSU
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKSU) — Gov. Mike DeWine’s COVID-19 press conference Monday started out with a moment of silence to remember the four Kent State students who lost their lives 50 years ago. “Today is the 50th anniversary of the tragedy at Kent State,” DeWine said. “A very sad day in Ohio history.” On May 4, 1970, community… Read More

Ohio To Expand Testing, Tracing To ‘Isolate’ COVID-19
By: Nick Castele | WCPN
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCPN) — Ohio will “substantially” increase its capacity for coronavirus testing as the state’s manufacturers step up the production of test kit components, Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday. More testing, combined with expanded efforts to trace the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state, will help health workers “isolate” and “kill” the virus, the… Read More

Which States Are Doing Enough Testing? This Benchmark Helps Settle The Debate
By: Allison Aubrey | NPR
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Widespread testing is key to lifting social distancing and preventing more waves of COVID-19. But how do communities know if they’re doing sufficient testing to stay on top of outbreaks?

Hospitals Banned from Sending COVID-19 Tests to Private Labs
By: Paige Pfleger | WOSU
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOSU) — Ohio Department of Health director Amy Acton signed an order Wednesday that bans hospitals from sending COVID-19 tests to private labs. Gov. Mike DeWine announced the order at his daily coronavirus press conference Wednesday. “Beginning today, when Dr. Acton signs this, you will be required to send this to another hospital that… Read More

COVID-19 Testing Facility Opens in Athens for Those Referred by Physician
By: Claudia Cisneros
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — An outpatient COVID-19 testing facility opened Tuesday in Athens in response to the coronavirus pandemic. OhioHealth spokesperson, Keely Stockwell, says they are not making the location public because people are only to show up there unless referred by a physician. “This testing site is not an on-demand testing site for the… Read More

State Running Low On Coronavirus Tests, Preserving For High-Risk Cases
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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Hospitals and labs around the state are running low on coronavirus test kits. State public health officials say that’s why they’re trying to preserve the swabs for people at high-risk to the virus and health care workers. Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Department of Health director, says she understands the limit of testing can be alarming… Read More