UPDATE @ 4:50 p.m.:
Beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday, all bars and restaurants will be ordered to close due to an executive order Gov. Mike DeWine made in a press conference.
Exceptions have been made for establishments that offer delivery and carry-out.
The Governor has also made changes to Ohio’s unemployment law during the coronavirus pandemic.
We are broadening current state policy to clarify that individuals that are quarantined by a health professional or by their employer are considered to be unemployed and will not be subject to requirements to actively seek work during the period of emergency. #COVID19OhioReady
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 15, 2020
INITIAL REPORT:
Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday morning he is considering closing all Ohio bars and restaurants to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’re certainly looking at that,” DeWine told Meet The Press host Chuck Todd.
“We started off last week closing the schools. We reduced the number of people who gather together to 100. We’ve restricted access to our nursing homes. Our prisons. So, we’re taking tough steps.”
The governor said he is drawing on lessons learned during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, when DeWine credited St. Louis leaders for acting two weeks prior to Philadelphia leaders and saving lives.
“And so what it tells us is, all the people I’ve been consulting, from Dr. Amy Acton, who’s doing a great job as my health director, to national experts, is they say look, every day counts so much. And you cannot wait. You have to move very, very quickly.”
“These are tough decisions,” DeWine added. “We’re inconveniencing people. It’s making people’s lives change. But we’ve got to save lives. Everything. We’re doing is to save lives.”
Complete Meet The Press transcript.
Chuck Todd: Based on what you heard from Dr. Fauci, are you going to close bars and restaurants in the state of Ohio.
DeWine: We’re certainly looking at that. We started off last week closing the schools. We reduced the number of people gather together to 100. We’ve restricted access to our nursing homes. Our prisons. So, we’re taking tough steps. Chuck, I think it’s very instructive. I know people have talked about this before. But I just looked at a chart. You look at the Pandemic of 1918. You compare the two cities of St. Louis and Philadelphia. You saw Philadelphia didn’t get it. But the thing I noticed in the chart is Philadelphia was only two weeks behind St. Louis. Philadelphia, went up straight like this. St. Louis’ more like that. And so what it tells us is, all the people I’ve been consulting, from Dr. Amy Action, who’s doing a great job as my health director, to national experts, is they say look, every day counts so much. And you cannot wait. You have to move very, very quickly. And look. These are tough decisions. We’re inconveniencing people. It’s making people’s lives change. But we’ve got to save lives. Everything. We’re doing is to save lives.
