St. Joe’s Cared for Patient Who Has COVID-19

WARREN, Ohio — Mercy Health St. Joseph Warren Hospital reported at 5:20 p.m. Wednesday that it “cared for a patient who has subsequently tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19).”

The patient at St. Joe’s is not the fourth person who lives in Ohio to test positive for the virus that causes the disease COVID-19. He is described by state health officials as a man in his 50s from Stark County with no known contacts with other patients.

Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton said this signals that Ohio has reached “community spread,” meaning the virus has moved across the state. Ohio is currently testing 24 people who have shown symptoms of respiratory distress and has cleared another 21 people.

In a three-sentence statement, Mercy Health said, “We follow safety protocols each and every time we care for a patient. In this instance, we followed guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control (and the Ohio Department of Health to minimize exposure to other patients and our associates. 

“We followed CDC cleaning protocols and St. Joseph Warren Hospital remains a safe place to seek care.”

According to a spokesman for Mercy, visitor restrictions and other clinical information will be delivered later this evening.

Associated Press contributed to this story.

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