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Governor urges approval of company’s mask sterilizing system

Aryess Merriweather prepares free meals for children at GoodFellas Barbecue Restaurant, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The restaurant is serving about 200 free meals for children per day. He feeds children Tuesdays through Fridays to help make sure they get their lunch due to school closing because of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine made a plea to the Food and Drug Administration during his daily press briefing Saturday, asking the agency to swiftly approve new technology that he believes could save many lives.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, DeWine has appeared each afternoon to brief reporters and the public about the day’s developments. On Saturday, he announced that Battelle Labs, headquartered in Columbus, has developed a way to clean and sanitize up to 80,000 surgical masks per day, making it possible for them to be reused by health care professionals. With an ongoing national shortage of personal protective equipment for those in the field, Battelle intends to make two such units available to Ohio — creating the capacity to handle 160,000 masks per day — and to also provide units to hard-hit areas such as Seattle and New York.

Terming the development a “real breakthrough,” DeWine pleaded with the FDA to grant approval.

“This is a public appeal to the FDA,” he said. “Please, please give us the approval to use these. We have nurses, we have doctors, we have people work in nursing homes who need these masks. … It really is truly a matter of life and death.”

also during the press conference, the state reported more than 1,400 coronavirus cases including 25 deaths, and DeWine presented manufacturers with a top 10 list of desperately needed medical equipment to be produced. A look at virus-related developments in Ohio on Saturday:

CARE

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said that upon request early in the crisis, Ohio’s health plans agreed not to deny coverage to patients seeking coronavirus care at hospitals.

ECONOMY

The Columbus mayor said the city’s public health department has begun investigating complaints of businesses not complying with the governor’s order to provide proper sanitation and space for employees. Businesses in violation will receive a warning that could be followed by citations and then possible criminal charges.

DeWine said the state is examining all contractors with an essential state contract to be sure they’re following proper sanitation and spacing directives.

COURTS

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has issued an order delaying a variety of legal deadlines, from filing appeals to appointing lawyers in death penalty cases, until the crisis passes.

CASES

More than 1,400 cases are confirmed, with 25 deaths as of Saturday and more than 340 people hospitalized, according to the state. The overall number falls well short of all of the cases in Ohio because the state is limiting testing to those who are hospitalized and to health care workers.

In Columbus, Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber, a nursing home and assisted-living facility, quarantined 19 patients and residents after a “contract medical professional” was confirmed to have coronavirus, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The Cincinnati police department said on Twitter its first officer had tested positive for COVID-19.

For most people, COVID-19 displays mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can be more severe, causing pneumonia or death.

THE NEW NORMAL

DeWine asked churches to continue to discourage in-person services and to use technology instead.

The Who rescheduled their April and May concerts, including an April 23 show set for the BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University, which was to have been the band’s first return to the Cincinnati area since a December 1979 concert in which 11 fans died in a pre-show stampede.

In Dayton, a plumber said stockpiling of toilet paper is causing problems as people without the product flush inappropriate items such as baby wipes, the Dayton Daily News reported. The state emergency management and environmental protection agencies urged Ohioans not to flush wipes, cat litter, paper towels, hygiene products, and medication .

Ohio State University extended the renewal period for football season-ticket holder until April 30, past what was the deadline on Friday.

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