Coronavirus Pandemic: DeWine unveils guidance for schools, public health alert system

Gov. Mike DeWine has announced school guidance for the next school year, with a focus on getting children back in the classroom. He also unveiled the Ohio Public Health Advisory alert, which is a color-coded system to help counties identify hot-spots.

The following announcements were made during this afternoon’s press conference with Gov. DeWine:

School guidelines:
Guideline 1: Vigilant assessing for symptoms, including administrators notifying local health departments of any positive cases.
Guideline 2: Wash and sanitize hands to prevent spread
Guideline 3: Thoroughly clean surfaces
Guideline 4: Practice social distancing
Guideline 5: Face covering policy will have to be developed by every district in the state
School staff will be required to wear face coverings unless it is considered unsafe or would significantly hamper the learning process. Face shields may be appropriate in certain situations.
The state recommends children 3rd grade and up should wear face coverings, unless there is a medical or developmental reason not to. Districts will create their own individual policies.
Gov. DeWine intends to work with the general assembly to work to assist schools with financial impact of requirements under the guidelines. DeWine said he expects to release the exact amounts sometime in about a week. DeWine said “wellness dollars” will likely be included for districts in the coming years.
DeWine said the guidelines were developed with science in mind and the state worked with numerous organizations and superintendents across the state.

Ohio Public Health Advisory System:

The state is unveiling the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, which will provide local health departments and other state organizations with critical information to help combat flare-ups of health related issues.
The Ohio Public Health Advisory System uses seven indicators that flag local health departments when certain thresholds are met including: new cases per capita, sustained increase in new cases, proportion of cases that are not congregate cases, sustained increase in emergency room visits, sustained increase in outpatient visits, sustained increase in new COVID-19 hospital admissions and ICU bed occupancy.
NEW CASES PER CAPITA: When the data show that a county has had an average of 50 cases per 100,000 people over a 2-week period, that triggers a flag for an increasing case rate. Using this data means we are taking into account population of a county when monitoring case increases
SUSTAINED INCREASE IN NEW CASES: If the number of new cases in a county continually increases, that’s another indicator of virus spread. A county will be flagged for meeting this indicator if the data show at least a five-day period of sustained new case growth.
PROPORTION OF CASES NOT CONGREGATE CASES: Data showing more than 50% of new cases originating from non-congregate settings during at least one of the past three weeks will trigger a flag on this indicator.
SUSTAINED INCREASE IN ER VISITS: ER data will show us the trend in the number of people who visit an emergency department with COVID-19 symptoms or a COVID diagnosis as a result of the visit. A county is flagged when there is an increase in such ER visits over a five-day period.
SUSTAINED INCREASE IN OUTPATIENT VISITS: This data set looks at the number of people visiting outpatient settings, including telehealth appointments, with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 symptoms. A county is flagged when there is an increase over a five-day period.
SUSTAINED INCREASE IN NEW COVID19 HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: When the numbers show at least a five-day period of sustained growth in the number of county residents with COVID-19 who are admitted to a hospital, the county will be flagged for meeting this indicator.
ICU BED OCCUPANCY: This indicator looks at regional data for both COVID-19 and non-COVID use of ICU beds. A county is flagged for this indicator when the regional ICU occupancy goes above 80% for at least three of the last seven days.

Ohio Public Health Advisory System 6/30

The color codes include the following and are issued by counties:
Alert Level 1 (YELLOW): A county has triggered zero or one of the seven indicators, and there is active exposure and spread. The majority of these counties are seeing a moderate number of cases, according to the CDC’s definition. Currently in the Miami Valley the following counties are at Alert Level 1: Miami, Mercer, Auglaize, Logan, Champaign, Darke, Shelby, and Clinton Counties.
Alert Level 2 (ORANGE): A county has triggered two or three of the seven indicators, and there is increased risk of exposure and spread. These counties are seeing cases that are growing in the community in the last two weeks. Currently in the Miami Valley the following counties are at Alert Level 2: Preble, Greene and Clark counties.
Alert Level 3 (RED): A county has triggered four or five of the seven indicators, and there is very high exposure and spread. Risk is very high. Ohioans should limit activities as much as possible. Wear a mask when you go out. Currently in the Miami Valley the following counties are at Alert Level 3: Butler and Montgomery counties
Alert Level 4 (PURPLE): A county has triggered six to seven of the indicators, and there is severe exposure and spread. Stay home as much as possible. No counties are in purple right now, however Franklin County, which includes Columbus is on the watch list.
In Montgomery County, five of the seven indicators are met under the advisory system. ER daily visits have more than doubled and outpatient visits have more than quadrupled.
In Butler County, four of the seven indicators are met under the advisory system. As of this past week, the average new cases in Butler County per day doubled. The number of COVID-positive patients in the Southwest Region’s hospital beds and ICUs has also doubled since the second week of June.

Other announcements also were made:

DeWine said that the majority of bars and restaurants are doing a good job at reopening safely, but there are some that are not doing a good job, he said. Since May, when restaurants and bars reopened, the Ohio Department of Commerce has been working with local jurisdictions to extend liquor permits to outside spaces next to bars (like parking lots/sidewalks) so seating capacity can expand outside to keep patrons distanced. So far, over 300 expansion requests have been granted to allow patrons more opportunities to enjoy dinner or drinks while enjoying themselves in a safe environment.
The state is reviewing its policies on childcare amid the pandemic and DeWine said they are waiting for new data, including a study, before making any changes. The state expects some of that data to come back within about 10 days. That data will be used to determine if the state will increase the student ratios in childcare centers.

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