Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Dr. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EMPLOYEE FACE COVERING EXCEPTIONS
Lt. Governor Husted reemphasized that face coverings are required for employers and employees while on the job. Exceptions for employers and employees include when:
If any of these exceptions apply to a business or employee, written justification must be provided upon request.
“Wearing a mask is something we do out of mutual respect for one another,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “At work, you wear a mask because you want to protect your fellow employees and because you want to protect your customers. And when you are a customer, though it isn’t required, you should still wear a mask because it will help protect those around you.”
CLASS OF 2020 GRADUATION
Governor DeWine reminded Ohio educators that they must ensure social distancing during any and all graduation ceremonies. The Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Health issued the following suggestions for local schools and health departments:
Additional guidance can be found on the Ohio Department of Education's website.
"Ohio has 612 school districts. Each school district must work with their local health department to make sure that their plan is in accordance with public health guidelines to deal with the pandemic," said Governor DeWine. "I understand how hard it is for the Class of 2020. This is not how any of us envisioned your graduation, but I am confident that our schools will be resourceful and creative in how they can honor you."
Governor DeWine also stressed that any graduation parties cannot exceed 10 people in one space.
PPE DELIVERY
Governor DeWine announced today that the state of Ohio has shipped 4.1 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to local emergency management agencies (EMA) across Ohio.
Although this is not the first shipment of PPE, this is the largest one-time distribution of PPE from the state of Ohio to the local EMAs in Ohio history.
"When this crisis began, I told you that we were going to do everything we could to ensure that those on the front line of this crisis have the personal protective equipment they need," said Governor DeWine. "The PPE will be distributed locally by county EMAs to nursing homes, jails, congregate living facilities, hospitals, and first responders."
The shipment includes: 500,000 N95 masks; 850,000 face shields; 750,000 surgical-type masks; 2 million non-medical gloves.
The PPE was secured through the work of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, JobsOhio, Ohio Department of Health, and Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE GRANTS
Governor DeWine announced that nearly $16 million in grant funding is now available for local law enforcement agencies, probation and parole offices, local courts, victim service providers, and adult, juvenile, and community corrections agencies.
This funding was awarded to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, as part of the CARES Act and will support agencies in:
OCJS will accept applications on a continual basis while funding is available, and there is no cap. For more information, please visit www.ocjs.ohio.gov.
CURRENT OHIO DATA
There are 17,303 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 937 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 3,421 people have been hospitalized, including 1,014 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.