BREAKING | Fifth coronavirus case in Ohio confirmed in Warren

COLUMBUS — A patient reported to be at St. Joseph Hospital in Warren is Ohio's fifth confirmed case of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, state health officials announced Thursday.

The man is a 55-year-old from Trumbull County who had no prior travel history outside Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Thursday afternoon briefing.

That man is currently in the hospital’s intensive care unit, said Amy Acton, Ohio Department of Health director. Mercy Health announced Wednesday evening that the hospital was caring for him.

Acton said the man had been ill for a little more than a week and had “pre-existing health issues” before being diagnosed with the virus. Local health departments are contacting people the person reported to have had contact with during that time, she said.

"Fortunately, he did not go to work when he evolved these symptoms and felt sick," DeWine said.

The man’s wife and three children also have been quarantined and also may have contracted the virus, though their test results have not yet been confirmed, Acton said.

As the man did not have any prior travel history outside the state, this case, as well as the state’s fourth confirmed case — reportedly in Stark County — are evidence of what health officials call “community spread,” when the infected do not appear to have contracted the disease during foreign travel.

“At the very least, 1 percent of our population is carrying this virus today,” Acton said, adding the virus’ transmission can double every six days. “We most definitely have community spread.”

To date, 30 people in the state have tested positive for coronavirus. Another 52 state residents are under investigation, Acton said. An unconfirmed hundreds more have since been notified by health officials that they possibly had contact with an infected person and have been told to self-quarantine, she said.

“Medical experts have explained to us these numbers are going to continue to grow,” DeWine said. “We know these confirmed numbers are only a small fraction of the individuals who are infected already in the state of Ohio.

“Further, we believe this is, in all likelihood, all throughout the state of Ohio. These numbers will grow.”

Acton said state virus testing labs are now working in three shifts to test more virus samples. Though the state earlier this week had the capacity to test up to about 400 samples, the addition of testing kits brings that capacity to about 1,500 samples, she said.

State health officials again directed the public to the state’s coronavirus hotline, 833-4-ASK-ODH (427-5634), which is manned by nurses, or to coronavirus.ohio.gov for more information.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 2:33 PM with the headline "BREAKING | Fifth coronavirus case in Ohio confirmed in Warren."