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Coronavirus
As a new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) swept through the world in 2020, preparedness plans, masking policies and more public policy changed just as quickly. WVXU has covered the pandemic's impact on the Tri-State from the very beginning, when on March 3, 2020, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine barred spectators from attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus over concerns about the virus, even though Ohio had yet to confirm a single case of COVID-19.

Coronavirus: How Our Region Is Preparing For Potential Cases

coronavirus
Andrew Harnik
/
AP
A monitor displays a map of Asia and a tally of total coronavirus cases, deaths and recovered, at the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday, Feb. 27.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health are holding a summit with local health officials to discuss coronavirus preparedness. This comes as the state is monitoring 212 recent travelers for possible symptoms of COVID-19 and one person is under investigation for the possible illness.

Globally the novel coronavirus has infected tens of thousands of people and has killed more than 3,000. In the U.S. as of March 5, 11 people have died, 10 of those cases are in Washington State and one in California. Los Angeles County has declared a local health emergency.

Most cases of the virus will be mild, according to health officials but its spread in the U.S. is considered inevitable. To discuss our region's preparedness for any potential cases we are joined on Cincinnati Edition by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown; Ohio Governor Mike DeWine;Ohio Department of HealthDirector Amy Acton, MD; Hamilton County Public Health Interim Health Commissioner Director Greg Kesterman; UC Health Emergency Management Medical Director and Emergency Medicine Associate Professor Dustin Calhoun, MD; and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies Director and Environmental Health Professor Sergey Grinshpun, Ph.D.

The Ohio Department of Health has set up a website with information on the coronavirus.

Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.

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Michael Monks brings a broad range of experience to WVXU-FM as the host of Cincinnati Edition, Cincinnati Public Radio's weekday news and information talk show.