• A large number were positive that had no symptoms at all
• Delivers to the prisons more than 1.1 million pieces of PPE

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has said that mass testing of the coronavirus began in the state before other states in the United States.

“We did this in three facilities. We learned valuable information from this that is helping us move our plan forward as we do test,” Governor Mike DeWine said while focusing on efforts being made at the state’s prisons.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correctional Reception Director Annette Chambers Smith said, “We created our pandemic plan in 2009. We have updated and practiced our plan. We started making Personal Protective Equipment, PPE — hand sanitizer, face shields, masks, etc. We were the 2nd prison in the nation to stop accepting visitors.”

Also, Dr. Michael Para of the Ohio State University WexMed said, “the mass testing was a critical step. A large number were positive, but what is amazing is how many people were positive and had no symptoms at all. They were feeling fine.”

Governor Mike DeWine said that Ohio’s “corrections employees at state prisons are on the front line every day, and we want to do what we can to help keep them safe.”

“Over the last few weeks, we have delivered to the prisons more than 1.1 million pieces of PPE.

“This includes 108,000 N95 masks; 256,000 gloves; 684,000 procedure masks; 10,000 provider gowns; and 100,000 cloth masks for inmates.”

He said, “these allocations, coupled with what DRC Ohio has on hand, are helping achieve that.  We’ve achieved that target with N95 and procedure masks, as well as gloves. We’ll keep working on the rest.”