Ohio Health Department Says Over 100,000 People May Have COVID-19 In US State

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) Over 100,000 people in the US' northeastern state of Ohio are suspected of having contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), US Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton said at a press conference.

"We know now, just the fact of community spread, says that at least 1 percent, at the very least, 1 percent of our population is carrying this virus in Ohio today," Acton said on Thursday, as quoted by The Hill news website, adding that one percent of the Ohio population is more than 100,000 people.

So far, there have been five cases of the disease in the US state. All patients are in their 50s. As for the country in general, over 1,600 people tested positive for the disease, and 40 of the patients have died.

Given the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, LOT Polish Airlines is suspending flights to the country from March 14 to April 13.

"Due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and less interest in travel, we've made the following changes to the following directions: Warsaw - Miami, Warsaw - Newark, Warsaw - Los Angeles and Budapest - New York (JFK) - flights suspended from Saturday March 14 until April 13, 2020, Other LOT's flights to the USA from Warsaw to New York (JFK) and from Warsaw and Krakow to Chicago will be operated according to the schedule," the company said.

The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, as it is already present in over 110 countries. So far, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide has surpassed 128,000, with the death toll standing at 4,720 and the number of recovered people exceeding 68,000.