Gov. Mike DeWine is implementing a Urgent Health Advisory called Ohioans Protecting Ohioans as part of the next phase of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
He noted he is now moving from issuing orders to making strong recommendations.
The Ohioans Protecting Ohioans advisory:
- Recommends 6 feet of social distancing; a limit of 10 people for mass gatherings; frequent hand-washing; and other sanitizing efforts.
- Incorporates all of the business orders about social distancing and sanitation, including employees wearing masks, as well as efforts to protect employees and efforts to protect the public.
- Considers the most vulnerable Ohioans as those who can suffer the worst impacts from the virus, DeWine said. The advisory strongly recommends that high-risk Ohioans stay at home as much as possible and avoid places where they are likely to encounter a lot of people.
- Recommends, through the Urgent Health Advisory, that all other Ohioans stay at home when possible. The intent is to lower the rate of spread of COVID-19.
- Lifts travel restrictions. However, while unnecessary travel within or outside of the state is permitted, it is not encouraged.
Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association members also are doing their part to update and loosen some restrictions put into place nearly two months ago, when the coronavirus pandemic hit Ohio with full force.
On another front, Gov. DeWine on Monday said he is assembling an enforcement team to ensure that bars and restaurants are operating safely under the Responsible RestartOhio plan.
“We know that many Ohio bars and restaurants are working very hard to comply with the safety guidelines, and I want to commend them for doing that,” DeWine said at his coronavirus briefing with reporters. “We did, however, receive several very troubling reports this weekend of bars and restaurants that were not complying with proper social distancing guidelines. We cannot allow the few bad actors to threaten the potential closure of other restaurants and bars.”
The enforcement team will operate as part of the Ohio Department of Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit and will conduct safety compliance checks in crowded bars and restaurants. Businesses found violating the Stay-Safe-Ohio order will receive administrative citations that could result in the revocation of liquor licenses, the governor said.
The OIU team will also work with municipal prosecutors to take potential criminal actions against business owners who do not follow the order, which includes the requirement that patrons remain seated while eating/drinking and that parties stay 6 feet apart.
Dine-in service at bars and restaurants is to resume on Thursday. Outdoor dining resumed last Friday.
Here are the other planned reopenings:
- Campgrounds can reopen May 21, with proper safety protocols in place.
- Horse racing resumes May 22; spectators prohibited. Casinos and racinos are not included in this.
- Community pools can reopen May 26. Water parks and amusement parks are not included in this, said Husted, who cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that concluded there is no evidence COVID-19 can spread to people through water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water play areas.
- Gyms and fitness centers can reopen May 26, as well as low-contact or non-contact sports.
- BMVs across the state open May 26. You should physically visit BMV locations only for services not offered online, such as registering a vehicle, scheduling a driving test or paying license reinstatement fees.
- Summer day camps resume on May 31. Protocols will be released sometime today.
- Daycare facilities restart May 31 with fewer children in classrooms and intensified hand washing.
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LATEST STATE DATA: As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 28,952 cases in the state, 1,720 deaths, and 5,117 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
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Of the state’s positive cases, 19.5% are from Ohio’s prisons. At those prisons, there has been an increase in testing.
[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]
There have been 277,602 people tested for coronavirus in Ohio. In the state, 4,504 cases are health care workers, which is 16 percent of the cases.
It is important to note the number of confirmed cases is not a true reflection of actual cases in the state because of the limited amount of testing available. The hope is that the number of cases will be more accurate because of the expansion of the testing standards.
The Stay-Safe-Ohio order will be superseded as new developments occur during the month, so DeWine is warning everyone not to wed themselves to May 29, when the order is to expire.
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