COLUMBUS — Ohio Health Director Amy Acton, M.D., has lifted the the Stay-at-Home order, which morphed into Stay-Safe-Ohio and now has become the Ohioans Protecting Ohioans Urgent Health Advisory.
She signed the order Wednesday. The Stay-Safe-Ohio order was to be in place until to May 29, but Gov. Mike DeWine has said the order would be superseded as new developments occur during the month.
Acton, in lifting the order, lauded Ohioans who “have risen to the challenge, have avoided overwhelming our hospitals and have flattened the curve.” She also said various business sectors have create best practices as they reopen.
The advisory “recommends that Ohioans continue to stay home as much as possible, but maintains mandates limiting large groups and requiring safe business conditions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Ohio.”
The state health department director, in the same order, is urging elderly people and those who are vulnerable as a result of illness to take additional precautions.
"People at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including those who are elderly and those who are sick, are strongly urged (but not required) to stay in their residence to the extent possible except as necessary to seek medical care," Acton wrote in the order.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 include people who are 65 or older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled."
Some of the underlying conditions mentioned in the order include people with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, people who have serious heart conditions, people with diabetes, people who are severely obese (body mass index of 40 or higher); people with liver disease.
Acton also signed an order Wednesday amending prohibited and permitted travel as part of the Stay-Safe-Ohio order that went into effect April 7, then changed to the Stay Safe Ohio order April 30 after dropping the Stay-at-Home order instituted March 23:
“Persons who have tested positive for COVID-19, are presumptively diagnosed with COVID-19, or are exhibiting the symptoms identified in the screening guidance available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health, unless they have recovered, shall not enter the State, unless they are doing so under medical orders for the purposes of medical care, are being transported by EMS, are driving or being driven directly to a medical provider for purposes of initial care, or are a permanent resident of the State.”
The Stay-at-Home or place of residence order that reopened businesses, with exceptions, and continues a stay healthy and safe-at-home order in Ohio is rescinded, Acton said in the order.
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