Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Tests Negative For COVID-19 In Second Test

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in Bexley, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2020. Jay LaPrete/AP Photo

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has tested negative on a second COVID-19 test, just hours after announcing he had tested positive on Thursday, just before  he was scheduled to greet President Donald Trump at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland.

As part of standard protocol, everyone who is scheduled to come into contact with the president is tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. DeWine and his wife Fran returned to Columbus to be tested.

However, DeWine’s official account announced on Twitter later that evening that a second test administered in Columbus had provided negative results. First Lady Fran DeWine and staff members have also all tested negative.

“A PCR test was administered to the Governor and members of his staff this afternoon. The PCR test looks for the specific RNA for the SARS CoV-2 —in other words, the genetic material specific for the virus that causes COVID-19,” the announcement said. “The PCR test is known to be extremely sensitive, as well as specific, for the virus. The PCR tests for the Governor, First Lady, and staff were run twice. They came back negative the first time and came back negative when they were run on a second diagnostic platform.”

The same PCR test has been used over 1.6 million times in Ohio by hospitals and labs all over the state.

The test administered Thursday morning was an antigen test, the announcement stated, and “represent a new technology to reduce the cost and improve the turnaround time for COVID-19 testing, but they are quite new.”

“We do not have much experience with antigen tests here in Ohio,” the announcement continued. “We will be working with the manufacturer to have a better understanding of how the discrepancy between these two tests could have occurred. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the direction of medical professionals, the Governor and First Lady plan on having another PCR test on Saturday. Results of these tests will also be released.”

DeWine tweeted Thursday afternoon that he had no symptoms but would be following protocol and would remain in quarantine at his home for the next 14 days. Lt. Governor Jon Husted also took a test on Thursday as part of the protocol to greet the president. Husted tested negative.

Last week, GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, tested positive for the virus shortly before he was scheduled to fly aboard Air Force One with Trump to Texas. Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt also announced he had tested positive last month, and while he did not have any other symptoms besides fatigue, he would follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on quarantining.