Marlene Harris-Taylor

Cleveland and Akron-based members of historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha held a virtual watch party Wednesday to see their sorority sister Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) debate Vice President Mike Pence in Utah.

The isolation and stress brought on by COVID-19 have been particularly difficult for people fighting drug addiction. When Ohio shut down in March,…

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) announced Wednesday the state has received enough remdesivir from the federal government to treat about 100 patients. The antiviral drug has shown promise treating COVID-19 patients and received Emergency Use Authorization recently from the Food and Drug Administration.

People who have put off a medical check-up or procedures due to the coronavirus can begin to make appointments again starting Friday May 1, 2020. There are several changes in store, however, for patients when they arrive for medical visits. The first phase of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s reopening plan includes allowing elective procedures and in-person doctor visits. Elective surgeries involving an overnight hospital stay are allowed under some specific conditions, such as if the patient is in extreme pain.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday a partial rollback on his ban on elective medical procedures in Ohio — the same day University Hospitals announced staff pay cuts. Less than 24 hours later, UH also said it plans to shut down some emergency services by the end of the month.

Nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths in Summit County come from one retirement community. Ohio Living Rockynol in Akron has seen seven residents die from the infection, said Melissa Dardinger, spokesperson for Ohio Living. “I do believe those deaths occurred in the hospital, not onsite at Ohio Living Rockynol,” Dardinger said.

Even as Ohioans try to stay home to flatten the coronavirus curve, grocery stores are open and essential for food and other necessities. A Case Western Reserve University scientist says she has observed behavior in local stores that she finds troubling. As people are doing their best to social distance and lessen the spread of the virus, she says some mistakes are being made in the process. Ideastream host Glenn Forbes spoke with health reporter Marlene Harris-Taylor about ways people can stay safe while they shop.

Updated at 11:14 a.m., Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Cleveland-area hospitals are ramping up coronavirus testing and area residents are responding in droves. Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals opened a new drive-thru testing center, at the UH Landerbrook Health Center in Mayfield Heights on Tuesday. This is in addition to the original site which opened Saturday near University Circle.

Updated 5:00 p.m., Thursday, March 12, 2020 Cleveland Clinic can now test for the coronavirus without sending specimens to an outside lab. Clinic officials called this a game changer because they can now get tests results in hours, instead of waiting days. The clinic’s pathology lab director Brian Rubin said they are able to run about 500 specimens a day and hope to ramp up to 1000 per day by next week.

There are currently no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio, but health officials are preparing for a possible outbreak in the state. Nursing homes, with large senior populations, will likely be ground zero, based on what has happened in other states.