On April 21, Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation a new strike team led by former Ohio Governors Richard Celeste and Bob Taft that will work to find more reliable sources of reagent and testing supplies for COVID-19 testing in Ohio.
“I am so pleased that Gov. Celeste and Gov. Taft have answered this call to help Ohio and did so without a moment’s hesitation,” said Gov. DeWine. “I am so grateful that they have agreed to partner together and use their networks, contacts, and life experiences to help us in the critical mission to get testing supplies.”
By April 24, the newly formed Testing Strike Team had already reached an agreement with Thermo Fisher, a company that makes reagent that will substantially expand COVID-19 testing capacity in Ohio.
As a result of collaborative efforts through the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19, Gov. DeWine also announced that ROE Dental Laboratory in Cleveland, OH, will manufacture up to 1 million testing swabs to support Ohio’s testing efforts.
This testing will dramatically increase Ohio’s ability to test in priority areas, including nursing homes, hot spots, congregate living settings, food and grocery stores, and essential manufacturing facilities.
As part of Ohio’s offensive strategy, Gov. DeWine announced that Ohio has started working with Massachusetts-based Partners in Health. Partners in Health will bring needed resources to Ohio to help increase the ability to trace contact exposure to the virus.