Mercy Health Covelli Field Hospital may open in two weeks
COLUMBUS — The Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown will double as a field hospital when the coronavirus pandemic reaches its peak in Northeast Ohio, Gov. Mike Dewine announced Monday during the daily coronavirus briefing.
The Mercy Health Covelli Field Hospital will contain about 250 beds for COVID-19 patients who are recovering and no longer require acute care at one of the area's hospitals.
"What you have seen on television in other locations — it would look similar to that," said DeWine.
The Covelli Centre is one of six facilities throughout the state that will be used for hospital overflow during the pandemic. The others are: Seagate Convention Center in Lucas County; Case Western Reserve University's Health Education Campus in Cuyhoga County; Dayton Convention Center in Montgomery County; Duke Energy Convention Center in Hamilton County and the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Franklin County.
Although local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, lobbied for Northside Regional Medical Center to be reopened for this purpose, the Ohio National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers chose the Covelli Centre for its structural offerings.
In a call with Ryan afternoon, Dr. John Luellen, CEO of Mercy Health Youngstown, explained that the Covelli Centre is more fire protected, and there are more accessible exits, It also has off-loading docks for equipment and free and clear parking.
It will be open as a field hospital in about two weeks.
The state is also sending assistance to the Mahoning Valley in the form of 26 National Guard members, who will work at the infirmary in the Federal Corrections Institution at Elkton in Lisbon.
The National Guard General Surgeon visited the prison after DeWine received concerned calls about the facility over the weekend.
In Monday's briefing, Ohio Health Director Amy Acton estimated that the state would hit its peak of coronavirus cases anywhere between "late this month to May 5."
She also shared some early demographic data from the state.
Of the state's 142 deaths, 61 percent are white, 10 percent are black, 2 percent are of other races and 28 percent are unknown.
Race information is patient-offered at intake, said Acton, and "people are opting out of filling out that part when admitted to the hospital." She urged Ohioans to provide that information upon intake, so the state can more accurately examine racial disparities in health outcomes regarding the virus.
"The governor and I will be presenting a much more elaborate description [of the data] by mid-week," said Acton.
She continues to urge Ohioans to make choices in accordance with the state's stay-at-home order.
"We cannot let up," said Acton. "The second we let up, it unravels."
Ohio's more restrictive stay-at-home order went into effect Monday night and extends to May 1.
The new order:
• Requires retail businesses to establish a maximum number of people allowed inside at one time
• Extends state gathering restrictions to wedding receptions
• Orders anyone traveling to Ohio to quarantine for 14 days
• Creates a dispute resolution panel to deal with similar businesses being treated differently
Read the complete order here.
CORONAVIRUS ELSEWHERE
Here are other developments from Monday around the state and nation:
• According to the latest figures Monday from the Ohio Department of Health, the state is reporting 4,450 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. There have been 272 confirmed cases in Mahoning County; 102 in Trumbull County; and 53 in Columbiana County.
• Statewide, there have been 142 deaths, including 17 in Mahoning County; 8 in Trumbull; and 5 in Columbiana. Mahoning County's 17 reported COVID-19 deaths remains the highest among Ohio's 88 counties; there have been 15 deaths in Cuyahoga County.
• Columbiana County reported 24 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday. The county has a total of 53 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5 deaths.
• According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday, there are 12,980 COVID-19 cases in the state which have led to 162 deaths. There are 24 cases in Lawrence County with 2 deaths; 18 cases in Mercer County with no known deaths.
• Pennsylvania's new $100 million relief fund for small businesses impacted by the pandemic is already exhausted, officials said. The COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program provided loans up to $100,000 to businesses with 100 or fewer employees to cover operational costs
• Officials from the U.S. Attorney office and the IRS are warning Ohioans to be alert for scams related to upcoming economic impact payments made during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 economic impact payments will begin in the next three weeks.
• Jewish Family Services and Jewish Community Center of Youngstown are working with Direction Home of Eastern Ohio to enable individuals to receive home delivery of frozen meals at no cost. For information or to sign up, call Jewish Family Services at 330-746-7929.
• The Mayors of Youngstown and Warren are forming a COVID-19 Economic Development Task Force. They will coordinate local business recovery and conduct weekly conference calls to meet the needs of the business community.
• The Canfield Fairgrounds remain open to provide opportunities for people to walk outside. "The walking route begins at the Grandstand, continues to the new Event Center/Home of the Junior Fair, past the Dairy Barn to the Mahoning Veterans Memorial," according to a news release.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:11 AM with the headline "Mercy Health Covelli Field Hospital may open in two weeks."