With ventilators in high demand, Ohio has issued an order to keep track of equipment crucial to helping battle the coronavirus (COVID-19).
On Tuesday, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton issued an order requiring weekly on-line reporting of ventilators by any entity in the supply chain, from its creation through end use. That group includes manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, transporters, distributors, retailers, physicians, clinics, hospitals, and medical facilities.
According to DeWine, the order has been put in place so that if there is a shortage of ventilators and Ohio needs to move some around, it will know how to best approach the matter. The order will also allow for the identification and re-distribution of machines from healthcare providers who are no longer performing elective procedures and will aid regional hospital collaboratives by giving them information on the availability of these machines in their regions.
Exemptions from the order include ventilators in the possession of individuals for personal use and ventilators that are in transit across Ohio but are being delivered from and to other states.
As of Tuesday, Ohio has had 2,199 confirmed coronavirus cases, 585 of which have resulted in hospitalization, 198 ICU admissions and 55 deaths. Dating back to the discovery of the state's first positive coronavirus case on March 9, DeWine has taken a number of measures to encourage social distancing, including issuing a stay-at home order across the state set to last through at least April 6.