THE BELMONT County man affected with the coronavirus has been hospitalized at Wheeling Hospital.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — One of the two people in Belmont County with confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus is now hospitalized, and Ohio reported its first death related to the illness Friday.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine confirmed the state’s first death from COVID-19 Friday afternoon, identifying the male patient as a 76-year-old attorney from the Toledo area who recently traveled to California.

Closer to home, Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said he could provide few details Thursday and Friday about the local patient who is hospitalized. He said his office was in contact Tuesday with the pair, who were self-quarantined at their residence and had been doing well.

At a press conference March 13, Sproul announced the two confirmed cases as supplement to a statewide press conference given by Gov. Mike DeWine. The two local people, a man and a woman in their 50s, apparently were exposed to the virus while attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., in late February. A Cuyahoga County resident also was exposed there and later tested positive for the virus.

The couple and the people they have since been in contact with are under observation, with some of their contacts recently cleared by health officials.

“At this point, no new (local) cases that we’ve been informed of, just the two positives still,” Sproul said. “We’ve had three people that finished their quarantine and were able to get out of quarantine.

“The rest of my group that I’m monitoring is out (of quarantine) on Saturday (today), and then we have a couple that will come out next week. … It’s all based on 14 days with their last contact with the positive person.”

Now however, one of the patients who tested positive is receiving more medical treatment.

“One development we have had is one of our positives had to go to Wheeling Hospital and he’s under their care right now, and I don’t have any other details beyond the fact that he is at Wheeling Hospital,” Sproul said. “All I know is he was transported. … Hopefully he just has something minor and they’ll be releasing him again.”

Thea Gompers, director of marketing and public relations at Wheeling Hospital, said no information could be provided about any patient and that she could not confirm that the hospital is treating anyone with a positive case of the virus.

Gompers did share several of the hospital’s new procedures, put in place to help it continue operations during the pandemic. These include setting up remote testing locations for patients with flu-like symptoms, deferring all elective, non-emergency surgeries, limiting visitations and closing the Howard Long Wellness Center. Non-essential meetings and events have been canceled, and volunteers age 60 and older are asked to stay home.

Since the onset of the virus in the United States, it has been declared a pandemic and a national emergency. In Ohio, eateries and other businesses such as spas and salons have been closed, and public gatherings canceled or postponed — including the primary election that was to have taken place Tuesday.

Ohio now says it has received 139,468 unemployment insurance benefit applications online this week, compared to 4,815 last week. Many of those people were displaced when restaurants and bars were ordered to close, except for providing carryout or delivery service.

The state has nearly 170 confirmed cases of the virus, with almost 40 hospitalizations. The state is limiting testing to those who are hospitalized and to healthcare workers. DeWine identified the patient who died as Mark Wagoner, Sr., a well-known attorney in Toledo who died Wednesday.

The Ohio Health Department says people with suspected symptoms should call a medical provider first, but seek immediate help if symptoms are serious, such as difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.

For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover.

The U.S. Small Business Administration approved Ohio’s application for access to low-interest loans of up to $2 million for businesses and nonprofits affected by the coronavirus’ impact on the economy.

DeWine is expected to push lawmakers next week, at the request of local municipalities, to permit live streaming of public meetings as long as sufficient notice is provided.