CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) Discusses Jump In Coronavirus Cases, Statewide Closings, Postponing Ohio Primary

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CABRERA: Ohio is reporting a big jump in coronavirus infections. There are now at least 247 confirmed cases in that state. Of nearly 80 cases from just yesterday, three people have died.

Today, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an order closing adult day services across the state with the exception of those with 10 people or less. And just last week, DeWine made the controversial decision to postpone the Ohio primary until June.

Governor DeWine is joining us now.

Governor, thank you. I know it's a busy time for you. We really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and our viewers.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: So far, five states, New Jersey, New York, California, Illinois, and Connecticut have enacted a stay-at-home or a shelter-in- place mandate, if you will. Do you plan on doing the same in Ohio?

DEWINE: Well, we've made strong recommendations to people to do that, and so I know many Ohioans are already doing that. So, we're looking at all possibilities.

But my message today to the people of Ohio is that we all control in our own hands kind of our destiny. This is a really crucial time to focus on doing what's right and this virus can only repopulate, only move if we help it.

And so keeping that distance between people is so very important, not going -- when you get in your car, make sure it's very a for a very, very important reason. If you're out, keep that distance.

So, that's what I think is really important for Ohio citizens. That's the message that I gave them today.

But look, we've issued some orders, some very tough orders in the past. We'll continue to do that. And this is a -- it's a very important time.

CABRERA: Do you worry, though --

(CROSSTALK)

DEWINE: Crucial time, really, for us.

CABRERA: For sure. DEWINE: And so because of that, do you worry at all that if the orders

in different states are different that there's no consistency across the board that it would lessen the efficacy?

DEWINE: Well, I think we've seen some good you know. I think some orders that have come out, for example, California was a good order, Illinois. You know, these states have really thought about it.

We're working with the business community. We're working with others. And we'll have, you know, we'll have more on this tomorrow.

CABRERA: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

DEWINE: We'll have a press conference tomorrow. We do it every day at 2:00 and we'll -- you know, we'll continue to do the orders that we think are necessary.

But again, we can have all the orders in the world. What you really have to have is people who are committed to making sure that we don't have this social contact and we pull apart. We got to do it.

CABRERA: Yes. We have to think about more than ourselves.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Let me ask you about the director of Ohio's Department of Health saying Ohio is conserving all of its testing for high-risk and hospitalized frontline workers. How has testing been going on in your state? How many people have been tested in Ohio?

DEWINE: Look, I don't have the total number. We have the same problem every state has. We do not have enough ability to test. I don't think any state does.

And so, every state is prioritizing it. You're trying to make sure it's reserved, you know, for the hospitals, for people when you really need to find out whether they are, you know, have this COVID-19 or whether they do not.

As my health director has pointed out, for most people, for most people, they're going to stay at home, they're not going to go to a hospital. If they have problems breathing, they're obviously going to go to the hospital. But if they're staying at home, the treatment that doctors are telling them is going to be pretty much the same whether they know they have it or do not have it.

So, look, we wish we had more ability to test. We certainly do. We have people actually who are working on this. I know some of our hospitals are working on this. We may have more information in the future to share with the public.

But we're in the same boat that, I think, every other state is in.

CABRERA: Governor, you have been praised for being particularly proactive in this time of crisis, and for your leadership, staying calm and compassionate while also being clear about the dangers. What do you say to people in Ohio or really across America who are fearful of what's happening and what might happen?

DEWINE: My experience in life is that people are fearful for about the unknown. And we try to, you know, spell out to people exactly what the situation is. We said that we had widespread community spread of this.

The numbers that you saw that came out today, I said at my press conference a few minutes ago, should not have been a surprise to any of us. We knew this was coming as the testing was really kind of catching up with where the spread is.

[16:35:15]

But you know, the majority of people who get this are going to be OK. They're going to have a tough spot to go through going it I'm told. But most of them will be able to - again, we can slow this down. We can dramatically slow this down by staying away from each other, keeping that distance.

But what I try to do is tell people what I know every single day. Ad I think people appreciate knowing what we know. We're sharing that with people every single day, so no surprises.

You know, we don't know exactly where the virus -- how it's going to proceed. I don't mean that we can predict everything.

CABRERA: Right.

DEWINE: But we want to inform people of what we know every single day, and that's why we do a press conference at 2:00 every single day just to share that with them.

CABRERA: Governor, it's such a challenging time for everyone. If you don't mind me getting personal for just a moment, do you ever have a moment of feeling like, wow, it's hard to keep it together right now? I imagine it's so overwhelming.

DEWINE: Well, I think, from a personal point of view, what I worry about, I have seven children and their families. I have 24 grandchildren. So worry about them just as I worry about every Ohio family. And you know, what we're trying to do is to protect every Ohio family.

But, yes, look, I think about that. I think about that a lot. And frankly, when I go to bed at night and when I get up in the morning, I'm thinking, am I doing enough, is my team doing enough, is there more that we could do. And that's, you know, that's what I think about every day.

CABRERA: Wow.

Governor Mike DeWine, thank you for taking the time. Best of luck as you continue to lead Ohio during this really difficult moment.

DEWINE: Ana, thank you. Thank you very much.

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