ohio department of health

Coronavirus testing kits are set to arrive in Ohio in a few days and should be ready to test Ohioans for coronavirus, also called COVID-19, by next week.

The current process is for hospitals to send potential coronavirus samples to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which then sends the samples to one of two out-of-state labs run by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That process takes five to seven days.

Updated: 8:07 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020

State and local health experts are advising caution rather than panic as the novel coronavirus spreads beyond China.

While there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state, it’s “an emerging health threat," Gov. Mike DeWine said at a press conference at MetroHealth Medical Center Thursday.

Two more possible case of coronavirus in Ohio came back negative this week. A third person is currently being tested.

The number of hospitalizations due to influenza rose by more than a third in Ohio last week. More than 800 people were hospitalized in the fifth week of the year, compared with 611 in the fourth week, and 332 a year ago.

The Ohio Dept. of Health is investigating another potential case of novel coronavirus. The agency reiterates the risk to Ohioans of contracting the disease remains low and there are no confirmed cases in the state.

Updated 3:15 p.m.

The Butler County Health Department says two Miami University students are being monitored for the coronavirus. The students had recently traveled to China.