This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/mike-dewine-coronavirus.html

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio Tests Positive for Coronavirus Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio Tests Positive for Coronavirus on Way to Meet Trump
(about 4 hours later)
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican whose early and aggressive response to the coronavirus has won him praise from health experts and rebukes from within his party, tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday ahead of a visit with President Trump. Gov. Mike DeWine left his home in rural Ohio at about 6 a.m. on Thursday, setting out early to meet President Trump when he arrived for a visit in Cleveland.
Mr. DeWine, 73, was tested as part of a standard protocol in preparation for Mr. Trump’s visit to Ohio on Thursday. During the three-hour drive up Interstate 71, Mr. DeWine prepared to speak to the president about an issue that had been on his mind: coronavirus testing. But before any discussions, the White House required him to get his own rapid-result test. He thought little of it until the results came back with unwelcome news.
Mr. DeWine, who was scheduled to greet President Trump on the tarmac of Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, did not meet with the president and instead headed back to Columbus, the state capital, for a secondary test. Mr. DeWine, 73, had tested positive, becoming the second governor known to do so as infections spread across the country.
“A very good friend of mine just tested positive,” Mr. Trump said from a podium in front of Marine One in Cleveland, before departing to visit a Whirlpool factory in Clyde, Ohio, on Thursday afternoon. He praised Mr. DeWine as a “great governor.” Though other Republicans and people close to Mr. Trump have tested positive, Mr. DeWine has struck a distinctly different tone than some in his party, taking an early and aggressive response to the virus and regularly wearing a mask. Critics within his own party quickly seized on the news as a sign that the strict measures he put in place, including a mask mandate, had not worked.
Mr. DeWine, who was waiting for the results of a second test on Thursday, said he did not know where he may have contracted the virus and had no symptoms other than a headache.
“The lesson that should come from this is, we’re all human,” he said, rejecting assertions that masks were not effective. “This virus is everywhere.”
Mr. DeWine was tested as part of a standard protocol in preparation for Mr. Trump’s visit to Ohio on Thursday. He did not meet with the president and left to get a secondary test.
“A very good friend of mine just tested positive,” Mr. Trump said in front of Marine One in Cleveland, before departing to visit a Whirlpool factory in Clyde, Ohio. He praised Mr. DeWine for doing a “fantastic job.”
“We want to wish him the best,” Mr. Trump said. “He’ll be fine.”“We want to wish him the best,” Mr. Trump said. “He’ll be fine.”
Mr. DeWine was not experiencing symptoms, his office said, and was returning to Columbus, where he and his wife, Fran, will both be tested. He plans to quarantine in his home for the next 14 days. Mr. DeWine’s positive test result reflects the growing threat the coronavirus poses in states like Ohio, which is now averaging about 1,200 cases a day, more than the state’s previous peak in April. It is also the latest reminder of a point Mr. DeWine had made this week: The virus can spread quietly and widely, reaching even those who take the threat most seriously.
Mr. DeWine’s positive test result reflects the growing threat the coronavirus poses throughout Ohio and the Midwest, where the virus is spreading largely unchecked in many states this summer. Ohio is now averaging about 1,200 cases a day, more than the state’s earlier peak in April. Several people have tested positive as part of regular screenings meant to protect the president. The easy access to tests and immediate results stand in contrast to the experience of many Americans, who have had to wait hours to get tested for the virus and continue to face turnaround times that stretch for days and even weeks, far longer than the 24 to 48 hours that experts recommend to effectively quarantine and contact trace to stop the spread of the virus.
It is also the latest reminder of a point Mr. DeWine had made himself this week: the virus can spread quietly and widely, reaching even those who take the threat most seriously. Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has frequently refused to wear a face covering in the Capitol, said he tested positive for the coronavirus at the White House last week, before a planned trip with Mr. Trump on Air Force One. Campaign staff members who attended the president’s rally in Tulsa, Okla., in June also tested positive.
Separately, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, a Republican, became the first governor known to test positive for the virus last month, a diagnosis he said was unrelated to his attendance at the president’s rally.
Mr. DeWine has stood out in his party and among the nation’s governors for his warnings against the virus. He was the first governor in the country to shut down schools and issued an early stay-at-home order in March. He wakes up each morning to a fresh PowerPoint presentation from his staff, which he reads on his iPad before 8 a.m. Among those Republicans who tested positive, Mr. DeWine stands out as the most ardent disciple of public health measures, taking a different tack than Mr. Trump, who initially denied that the virus was a threat and for months resisted wearing a mask in public. (The president wore a mask when visiting the Whirlpool factory on Thursday.)
As cases intensified this summer, he issued a solemn televised address last month, quoting Ronald Reagan and the Bible as he warned residents to stay at home and wear masks. “Don’t we all want to be around to meet our future children, our future grandchildren?” he said. “To attend their baptism, to watch our kids and grandkids graduate from school?” Mr. DeWine was the first governor to shut down schools and issued an early stay-at-home order in March. He wakes up each morning to a fresh PowerPoint presentation from his staff that he reads on his iPad before 8 a.m. He issued a statewide mask order last month and often issues dire pleas to Ohioans to take the virus seriously.
He later issued a statewide mask order, and announced this week that Ohio would be part of a bipartisan group of states that will work together to buy millions of antigen tests, with the hope of getting back test results more quickly. “Don’t we all want to be around to meet our future children, our future grandchildren?” he said during a televised state address last month. “To attend their baptism, to watch our kids and grandkids graduate from school?”
A mild-mannered career politician, Mr. DeWine’s decades in public office — as a county prosecutor, state senator, congressman, lieutenant governor, U.S. senator and state attorney general — unfolded largely out of the national spotlight, until the pandemic turned him into something of a social media sensation this spring. A mild-mannered career politician, Mr. DeWine spent decades in public office — as a county prosecutor, state senator, congressman, lieutenant governor, U.S. senator and state attorney general — largely out of the national spotlight, until the pandemic turned him into something of a social media sensation.
His daily 2 p.m. press briefings, where he took on a professorial air, speaking alongside graphs and charts, while wearing round glasses and colorful ties representing Ohio universities, spawned a fan club among many Ohioans. Known as “Wine With DeWine,” the briefings inspired T-shirts and wine glasses with the motto “It’s 2 o’clock somewhere.”
Updated August 6, 2020Updated August 6, 2020
But his approach also drew uproar from protesters who gathered outside the State Capitol and from members of his own party. Amid the stay-at-home order and business closures, Republicans accused his administration of “micromanaging” residents and pumping up coronavirus statistics to scare Ohioans. His daily 2 p.m. press briefings, where he took on a professorial air, speaking alongside graphs and charts while wearing round glasses and colorful ties representing Ohio universities, spawned a fan club. The briefings, known as “Wine With DeWine,” inspired T-shirts and wine glasses with the motto “It’s 2 o’clock somewhere.”
But his approach also drew uproar from protesters who gathered outside the State Capitol and from members of his own party. Amid the stay-at-home order and business closures, Republicans accused his administration of “micromanaging” residents and pumping up coronavirus statistics to scare Ohioans.
On Thursday, a Republican state representative, Nino Vitale, used the moment to question the governor’s policies. “I thought masks worked?” he posted on Facebook, alongside a photo of Mr. DeWine wearing a face covering.On Thursday, a Republican state representative, Nino Vitale, used the moment to question the governor’s policies. “I thought masks worked?” he posted on Facebook, alongside a photo of Mr. DeWine wearing a face covering.
Since Ohio began a phased reopening in May, new cases ticked steeply upward, before leveling off somewhat in recent days. Ohio reported about 1,200 new cases on Wednesday. Deaths, considered a lagging indicator, remain relatively low, with about 25 new deaths reported each day. By Thursday afternoon, Mr. DeWine said he had received several “not so nice” text messages suggesting that mask wearing did not matter.
The Ohio lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, was also tested for the virus on Thursday and received a negative result. “Look, we know it does,” he said, speaking from the porch of his home in Cedarville, Ohio. “If people take that lesson from the fact that I apparently have it, that would be the wrong lesson.”
Mr. DeWine is the second governor in the nation known to have tested positive for the virus. Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, a Republican, received a positive test result last month. Mr. Stitt, who said he did not experience a fever or cough, isolated at home before returning to the State Capitol. In addition to being in a higher-risk age group, Mr. DeWine has had asthma since he was a teenager. As he and his wife, Fran, waited for further test results, he said he planned to work from home and quarantine for 14 days. Ohio’s lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, was also tested for the virus on Thursday and received a negative result.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting. “So far, my work is not going to be impacted,” Mr. DeWine said. “We’ll see. I don’t take anything for granted. This virus is a nasty thing.”
Julie Bosman and Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.