COLUMBUS, Ohio — The FDA has finally given the approval for the Ohio-based company Battelle to begin sterilizing face marks for those on the front line.

• When they’re up to full capacity, two machines can sterilize up to 160,000 masks
• Dr. Acton says curbing coronavirus is a constant moving target and state plans need to be streamlined for efficiency
• Governor DeWine is asking for testing to no longer be handled by slow-moving private labs.

There was a lag to this approval, involving a lot of bureaucratic red tape, but Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted says it took the governor calling up the president, putting his feet to the fire, and making this a priority.

“We know that today they are moving forward, and within a few days we’ll be up to full capacity. This is a major breakthrough for us in Ohio, but it’s also something where we’re taking Ohio technology and helping other states, so we’re very proud of that,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Ohio-based company Battelle is gearing up for battle in this wartime effort against the coronavirus.

“They will be ramping this up as fast as they can. They expect to do 10,000 tomorrow and then every day that they can get the shipments in from the hospitals and then they will process those as fast as they can. How those machines work - there are four chambers in each machine. They can run at least ten thousand in each chamber and there are four chambers in each machine, and they can run that for two shifts,” said Husted.

Husted says when they’re up to full capacity, two machines can sterilize up to 160,000 masks a day.

It’s a game changer for one of the earliest problems in combatting COVID-19.

“In truth, no hospital system in this world has faced what we’re facing around the world with coronavirus. So when we say plans, what we mean is ever- evolving, ongoing planning,” said Health Director Dr. Amy Acton.

Dr. Acton says curbing coronavirus is a constant moving target and state plans need to be streamlined for efficiency.

That’s why Governor DeWine is asking for testing to no longer be handled by slow-moving private labs.

He says the state can get those tests turned around in as little as 8 hours.

“I don’t think it is acceptable when we go through this crisis and people are waiting 4, 5 and 6 days. Unfortunately, that is what we are seeing from the outside labs,” said DeWine.