He received the diagnosis shortly before he was to meet with President Trump upon his arrival in Cleveland. For his part, DeWine says he is asymptomatic apart from a headache which he says he gets on a regular basis. Well, at least DeWine was spared the indignity of hearing Trump claim Joe Biden was against God.
Unlike most of his GOP gubernatorial colleagues, DeWine took COVID-19 seriously was among the first Governors to cancel major events, close restaurants, taverns and other indoor entertainment facilities as well as close schools. Along with Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Phil Scott of Vermont and Larry Hogan of Maryland, DeWine put politics aside when it came to COVID-19 and did not submit to the whims of President Trump's demands to reopen the economy in April.
However, DeWine has butted heads with Republican legislators who voted to limit the power of Dr. Amy Acton, the Director of the Ohio Department of Public Health who subsequently resigned and within the past couple of days stepped down from advising DeWine altogether.
DeWine's COVID diagnosis is a shame when you consider how his other Republican counterparts have embraced reopening while disregarding masks and social distancing. Florida's Ron DeSantis, Georgia's Brian Kemp, Greg Abbott of Texas as well as Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma who himself was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. Stitt infamously posted a picture of himself and his family in a crowded restaurant at the beginning of the pandemic and also gave his blessing to host the disastrous Trump rally in Tulsa which claimed the life of former GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain.
Complicating matters is that DeWine is 73 and is asthmatic using an inhaler twice a day. Given the harm COVID-19 does with the lungs this is cause for concern. At this point, we can only hope DeWine remains asymptomatic and can resume his duties in two weeks.
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