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Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio Tests Positive, and Then Negative, for Coronavirus | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Gov. Mike DeWine tested negative for the coronavirus hours after a positive rapid-result test prevented him from welcoming President Trump to Ohio on Thursday, reflecting the increasingly complex state of testing in the United States. | |
The whiplash day of contradictory results is a further indication of the country’s limited ability to slow the spread of the virus with widespread and accurate testing. | |
When Mr. DeWine was first tested on Thursday morning as part of a White House screening, he received an antigen test, a new frontier of testing that allows for results in minutes, not days, but has been shown to be less accurate. The positive result came as a “big surprise,” said Mr. DeWine, who had not been experiencing symptoms other than a headache. | |
Later on Thursday, he was tested using a more standard process known as polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R., an accurate but time-intensive method that requires samples to be processed at a laboratory. His wife, Fran, and staff members also tested negative. | |
“We feel confident in the results,” the governor’s office said in a statement late Thursday, noting that the negative result was processed twice. “This is the same P.C.R. test that has been used over 1.6 million times in Ohio by hospitals and labs all over the state.” | |
The puzzling results capped a day in which Mr. DeWine was supposed to greet Mr. Trump on the tarmac of an airport in Cleveland. Instead, the president stood alone outside Marine One and praised Mr. DeWine as a “a very good friend of mine,” while Mr. DeWine left to get the secondary test and return to quarantine at his home in Cedarville, Ohio. | |
Mr. Dewine, 73, had taken an early and aggressive response to the virus and has been a vocal proponent of wearing masks. He used the moment on Thursday to further underscore the threat the virus poses. | |
“The lesson that should come from this is, we’re all human,” Mr. DeWine said on Thursday afternoon, standing on the porch at his home while waiting for the results of his second test. “The virus is everywhere.” | |
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. | 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. The briefings, known as “Wine With DeWine,” inspired T-shirts and wine glasses with the motto “It’s 2 o’clock somewhere.” | 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.” |
Updated 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. | 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. |
By Thursday afternoon, Mr. DeWine said he had received several “not so nice” text messages suggesting that mask wearing did not matter. | By Thursday afternoon, Mr. DeWine said he had received several “not so nice” text messages suggesting that mask wearing did not matter. |
“Look, we know it does,” he said. “If people take that lesson from the fact that I apparently have it, that would be the wrong lesson.” | |
He had planned to quarantine for 14 days at home. “Out of an abundance of caution,” his office said the governor would get another test on Saturday. | |
Julie Bosman and Maggie Haberman contributed reporting. | Julie Bosman and Maggie Haberman contributed reporting. |