Health & Fitness
Ohio Governor: 'No One Immune' To COVID-19 After Trump Illness
Gov. Mike DeWine urged Ohioans to wear masks and maintain social distancing following President Donald Trump contracting coronavirus.
COLUMBUS, OH — Ohioans need to stay focused on maintaining health and safety guidelines, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
The governor addressed President Donald Trump contracting COVID-19 during a televised news conference. He said Ohioans should learn from the president's diagnosis that even frequent testing for the virus is not a substitute for wearing masks and maintaining social distance from others.
"This virus is the enemy of our freedom," DeWine said.
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DeWine avoided discussing whether or not the president should have been released from hospital care, or whether the president should have removed his mask before entering the White House, but he did say Trump's illness proves no one is immune to COVID-19.
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"Each of us can demonstrate our love and respect for our fellow Ohioans by wearing a mask, avoiding large gatherings, keeping at least 6 feet distance from others, and frequently washing our hands. This is in our control," he said.
The governor's message to Ohioans comes after the president Tweeted out that Americans should not let coronavirus "dominate their lives." Infectious disease experts have expressed concern about that message, noting that more than 210,000 Americans have been killed by COVID-19.
Trump was cleared by his doctors to leave Walter Reed Medical Center, where he'd been hospitalized since Friday, but he "may not be entirely out of the woods yet," Dr. Sean Conley, one of his doctors, told reporters. The president's care was transferred to a White House medical suite described as a step below an intensive care unit.
DeWine had his own COVID-19 scare in early August. While preparing for a visit from Trump, he took a rapid response test which said the governor was positive for COVID-19. Subsequent tests were negative for the virus, revealing DeWine had been the victim of a false positive.
Here are all of Tuesday's COVID-19 numbers in Ohio:
- New cases: 1,335
- New deaths: 16
- New hospitalizations: 132
- New ICU admissions: 36
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