Governor to announce list of inmates eligible for release

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine planned to announce a new list of state prison inmates who could be eligible for release after 10 inmates and 27 employees at several institutions tested positive. Meanwhile, the state school board provided additional guidance to schools for ending the academic year, including how to determine students’ eligibility for graduation.

A look at coronavirus-related developments in Ohio on Tuesday:

___

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

DeWine planned to announce a new list of state prison inmates who could be eligible for release as five inmates each at Marion and Pickaway correctional facilities tested positive, along with 27 staff members at four prisons but most at Marion. The inmates would be low-level offenders likely near the end of their sentences and wouldn’t include violent or sex offenders.

In eastern Ohio, members of the Ohio National Guard began arriving at the federal prison in Elkton to help after seven inmates tested positive, said guard spokeswoman Stephanie Beougher. Of three additional inmates who have died, one tested positive for COVID-19 and tests are pending on the two others. The guard members are medical workers, including doctors and nurses.

___

CASES

More than 4,400 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 142 people have died, with more than 1,200 hospitalizations as of Monday, according to the state health department. One in every five cases is a health care worker.

Mahoning County has reported 17 deaths, the most in the state. Health officials in the county that includes Youngstown attribute the number to community spread and not a single hot spot of cases.

For most people, COVID-19 displays mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can be more severe, causing pneumonia or death.

___

EDUCATION

The state school board provided additional guidance to schools for ending the academic year, including how to determine students’ eligibility for graduation, Gongwer News Service reported. The board says decisions should rest with a student’s principal, in consultation with teachers and counselors, or with a special ed student’s “individualized education program team.”

___

ECONOMY

In Fairfield in southwestern Ohio, Shared Harvest Foodbank’s director said the agency has distributed as much food in two weeks as it normally would in two months, the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reported. The Ohio Foodbanks Association has asked DeWine for $25 million in emergency funding because of the overwhelming statewide demand. The association says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has waived requirements through April 30 for gathering detailed information on first-time recipients, making it easier to distribute food.

___

THE NEW NORMAL

Traffic crashes across Ohio fell 44% in March compared to March 2019 as traffic plummeted, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The annual outdoor drama, Tecumseh!, held in Chillicothe and telling the story of the 19th century Shawnee leader Tecumseh, canceled its entire season, according to the Chillicothe Gazette.

Police in Elyria cited a man for violating the stay-at-home order, explaining to the man that “buying drugs was not essential reason to travel,” The Chronicle-Telegram said.

___

Associated Press writers Mark Gillispie in Cleveland and Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.