Today brings the reopening for multiple businesses including all Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles locations, gyms and fitness centers, community swimming pools, athletic and skill training for non- or low-contact sports, bowling alleys, miniature golf, and batting cages as a part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s Restarting Ohio plan.
>>RELATED: Coronavirus: When childcare, gyms, BMV locations, and pools will reopen in Ohio
>>DeWine releases new guidelines for non-contact sports, skills training for all sports
Last week, DeWine reminded Ohioans that driver’s licenses that expired after March 9 are valid until 90 days after the state of emergency ends or Dec. 1, whichever comes first. Many services, such as registration renewal, can be done on the BMV’s website at bmv.ohio.gov.
DeWine announced Tuesday that coronavirus testing within nursing homes in Ohio will begin taking place to see who has it and who may be asymptomatic to help isolate the virus and help keep it from infecting their communities.
All residents and staff members of Ohio’s developmental centers will also be tested to try to limit the spread of COVID-19 in congregate care settings.
DeWine explained that a large portion of the coronavirus deaths in Ohio have been within nursing homes making conducting tests in these facilities of high importance for the Ohio Department of Health.
Some community pools have already made the decision not to reopen.
Later this week, on May 31, summer day camps and daycare facilities are slated to reopen.
On June 1, banquet centers and catering businesses, both of which serve events such as wedding receptions, will be allowed to reopen with crowd size limited to 300 people. Here are the guidelines for that business sector to reopen.
>>RELATED: Catering, banquet centers can reopen June 1
News Center 7′s Jim Otte asked Gov. DeWine Tuesday when we might see racinos and casinos reopen. DeWine said he is purposely spacing out reopenings to prevent a second wave.
>>Coronavirus: DeWine unveils new tools to combat case disparity in minority communities
Some things you need to know today:
- The federal government’s plan on testing is putting a burden on states
- Safety concerns prompt World Health Organization to halt drug trials
- Trump threatens to move Republican National Convention out of N. Carolina
LATEST STATE DATA: As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 33,007 cases in the state, 2,002 deaths, and 5,597 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
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 337,221 people tested for coronavirus in Ohio. In the state, 4,983 cases are health care workers, which is 15 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.