The view from the Idea Center

I’m back from a weekend trip to Milwaukee, which, I’m happy to say, is not under any coronavirus travel restrictions. I did see a number of travelers wearing surgical masks, including a nifty-looking red one. No matter that the U.S. Surgeon General urged folks in an annoyed  tweet over the weekend to  “STOP BUYING MASKS!”

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty returned Sunday from a family trip to a more exotic destination, Venice. Unlike Milwaukee, all of Italy is in the grip of an expanding outbreak of COVID-19. But  McCarty said she didn’t realize how bad things were until she and her husband got back to the States.

“The news was everywhere, and it was all about coronavirus,” she told ideastream’s Marlene Harris-Taylor. “And we just realized, you know,  maybe I shouldn’t go back to work tomorrow.”

She called Summit County health officials, who called the Ohio Department of Health. The judge and her husband were officially quarantined yesterday.

They are among  the more than 200 people currently under supervision by public health officials in Ohio for possible coronavirus. The Ohio Department of Health is now updating this information, along with the number of suspected and confirmed cases, on its website every weekday, instead of just Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Currently, Ohio doesn’t have any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. However,  12 other states have coronavirus cases, including Washington, where six people have died. They’re the only U.S. fatalities at this time.

Wash your hands frequently. Cough into your elbow. Stay home if you’re feeling buggy, especially if you think you have the flu.  More than 7,500 Ohioans have been hospitalized with influenza so far this flu season. In Cuyahoga County alone,  16 people have died.
 

See you bright and early on the radio tomorrow,
Amy Eddings

Need to KnOH

Headlines from Northeast Ohio and Beyond

• Ballot Board Splits Voter Rights Amendment Into Four Petitions
• Cuyahoga County Readies To Spend $23 Million From Opioid Settlements
• New Cleveland Center Helps Victims of Elder Abuse
• As Cities Expand Police Gang Units, Experts Say To Look At Root Causes Of Violence
• Ohio Seeks Dismissal Of Lawsuit Over School Voucher Applications
• Letters Urge Betsy DeVos To Erase Student Loans For Borrowers With Disabilities

Your ideas

Yesterday, conversations on The Sound of Ideas sparked a discussion if Ohio needs a law governing transgender athlete participation in women's sports. Over on our Public Square Facebook group, George Lichman wrote, "There may be some legitimacy to the argument that a trans woman may have an athletic advantage over a cis woman. However, the likelihood of this being a problem seems very, very low. Which leads me to believe this legislation is about something else."

Today, we want you to be the ones asking the questions! What do you want to know about the coronavirus? Send us your questions and ideastream will get answers! Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment on our Facebook page or join the conversation in Public Square. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.