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Ohio dorm and hotel rooms could soon be turned into hospital units

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said on Tuesday that dorms and hotel rooms could soon be turned into hospital units.

As the number of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Ohio continue to rise, some notable and necessary changes in the state could be coming.

On Tuesday, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton shared that with hospitals at 60 percent capacity and an estimated 1,300 ICU beds available in the state, dorm rooms and hotel rooms could soon be converted into hospital units. Acton and Governor Mike DeWine each said that the conversions shouldn't come as a surprise, given the projections they've shared since Ohio's first positive coronavirus case was discovered on March 9.

Acton said that the use of dorm and hotel rooms could increase the state's ICU capacity by 50 percent. Additionally, the state will likely be needing to build hospital units, although its first preference is to use infrastructures that are already in place.

Acton said that more details would be available in the near future.

As of Tuesday, Ohio has had 564 positive cases of the coronavirus, 145 of which have resulted in hospitalization and eight deaths. On Monday evening, a stay at home order across the state went into effect, which is currently slated to last until at least April 6.

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