COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine discussed the positive COVID-19 diagnosis of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and a huge jump of cases on Friday, saying, "frankly, I"m worried" about the state numbers. Nearly 1,500 cases were reported in Ohio on Friday.
The president was in Cleveland on Tuesday to debate Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate of the campaign season. Biden and his wife, Jill, reported testing negative for COVID-19 on Friday.
So far the president is only experiencing "mild" symptoms, but others close to him have also contracted the virus, including Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and top White House aide Hope Hicks.
DeWine and wife Fran had a test earlier Friday afternoon and they pair did not have their results back yet as of 3:05 p.m. Friday.
"We felt we should take a test today," he said in response to a question asking about taking repeat tests and the availability of tests to everyday Ohioans. "I think (testing) is going to go up dramatically," he said, noting that Abbott Labs are providing more quick tests that will be in the state and will be "fairly readily available."
He called the president and first lady's diagnoses a wake-up call.
"As careful as Fran and I have been, this was a reminder to us. I think it was a powerful reminder to everyone. This virus hates everyone the same. It does not discriminate and it goes after everyone," DeWine said. "The president of the United States can get this. The first lady can get this. We can get it too."
The governor said he was not in the debate hall when the debate took place Tuesday, and could not speak to whether or not people in attendance were possibly violating Ohio's mask ordinance.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who was at the debate, said that to get inside, a person had to have a negative test, had to have a temperature taken, and had to wear a mask.
"I saw almost everybody had a mask on inside the venue. I wasn't in a position to see everyone, but everybody that was in my sightline had a mask on, outside of the participants in the debate. I thought the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western did a fine job creating a (safe) environment," Husted said. "I saw one or two people without a mask on. I can only say what I saw."
The lieutenant governor, who is self quarantining at home, said he estimates he was no closer than 50 feet from the president or any of the White House staff that traveled with Trump that Tuesday.
"I guess it was one of those times when not having a 'good seat' was a good thing," Husted said.
The rallies the president had in Ohio at Toledo Express and in Dayton fall within the known incubation period for the virus. It can take 14 days for symptoms to appear.
DeWine said that he was close to the president in Dayton on Air Force One. DeWine said that he himself had a mask on and the president did not. He said that any outbreaks from the rallies in Dayton and Swanton had not been reported by county health agencies.
When asked if all campaign activities should move to an all-virtual format in wake of the president's positive COVID-19 diagnosis, DeWine said no.
"I believe we can live with this (virus) if we're cautious. Just as we've said, 'here are the guidelines for high school sports, for restaurants, for bars,' if people will carefully follow the guidelines we can live with this virus," the governor said. "I would not make exceptions for campaigns. Virtually everything's open in Ohio. We have some restrictions on bars and restaurants. But no, I would not say campaigns need to completely shut down. I think they need to be careful and be compliant," he said.
DeWine took the opportunity to update the state on Ohio coronavirus data, saying "as you can see our deaths are very high. ... Second, the case number 1,495 is very alarming. That number is, with the 21-day average, is back over the 1,000 average."
He also noted hospitalization numbers are starting to go back up "rather dramatically."
Several members of the president's family, including the first lady, also were in Cleveland to attend the debate against Biden on Tuesday.
Some members of the president's family were seen seated in the audience without wearing a mask. Images show the family wearing masks when they entered the venue, other photos, however, show their facial coverings were removed while in physically distanced seats to watch the debate.
The Cleveland Clinic has issued a statement after co-hosting the recent presidential debate that was held inside the Health Education Campus.
The Clinic said that while it is following up with the guests to address their questions and concerns, it is not believed to be necessary to test everyone again given the safety measures in place. If a guest brings this up as a concern, however, the Clinic says it can offer retesting.
The statement from the Clinic outlined the safety precautions taken during the debate:
“Our thoughts are with the President, First Lady and all of our guests. As health advisor to the Commission on Presidential Debates and the host site, we had requirements to maintain a safe environment that align with CDC guidelines- including social distancing, hand sanitizing, temperature checks and masking. Most importantly, everyone permitted inside the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 prior to entry. Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested and tested negative by their respective campaigns.
Based on what we know about the virus and the safety measures we had in place, we believe there is low risk of exposure to our guests. Out of an abundance of caution we are reaching out to our guests to address any questions and concerns. We will continue to monitor the information being released by the White House.”