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Cleveland Clinic confirms 'handful' of coronavirus cases

Spread of the coronavirus is growing.

CLEVELAND — The number of coronavirus cases continues to grow right here in Ohio.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic confirmed to 3News Friday morning that they “have a handful of confirmed cases throughout our system.” Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton later confirmed the number of positive tests at the clinic was at least four.

“As we continue to test, we will likely see these numbers increase,” the spokesperson said in an e-mail. “Patients are isolated at home and all precautions are being followed for those who are inpatient.”

Currently, the Ohio Department of Health has 13 confirmed cases listed throughout Northeast Ohio as follows:

  • 6 in Cuyahoga County
  • 2 in Stark County
  • 1 in Summit County
  • 1 in Trumbull County

Those numbers are updated at 2 p.m. daily by the ODH, although the updating now may be more frequent.

"This is going to surge," said Dr. Stephen Sroka of Case Western Reserve University told 3News on Friday morning. "We just started testing. These numbers are going to go crazy. We’ve got to spread that surge out. This is called mitigation and containment. This is why the Governor is shutting down the schools, so the disease can’t spread."

Earlier this week, the Cleveland Clinic notified its employees of "additional precautions" amid the coronavirus, including a change to the company's absence policy.

If you're starting to feel a bit under the weather, these are the symptoms you should be watching for:

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