07/22/2020

2020-07-22 OH Gov. DeWine COVID-19 Update

Updated daily at 2 p.m. - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/ 

New orders/actions

• A statewide mask order goes into effect starting tomorrow at 6:00 pm ET.  All citizens must wear a mask in all indoor locations that are not a residence, in outdoor locations where social distancing is not possible and while taking public transportation/taxi/ride share.  Exceptions remain for certain situations.
• A travel advisory has been issued for Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.  Individuals traveling to or from those states are encouraged to self-quarantine for 14-days.
• The next press conference will be tomorrow, Thursday, July 23 at 2:00 pm ET.

The Governor opened by going through the day’s numbers.  While numbers are increasing, the Governor was pleased to announce that the rate of increase seems to be slowing in several of the state’s Level 3/red counties.  He thanked citizens for wearing masks as he believes that it is making a difference.

While the alert levels will not be updated until tomorrow, Governor DeWine did say that preliminary indications are that more counties will move to Level 3/red tomorrow.  As noted above, the mask order will spread statewide tomorrow, notwithstanding a county’s alert level. 

The Governor also announced that the alert level system is an evolving system that will be refined as more data becomes available at the local level and as knowledge grows.  Tomorrow’s alerts will include a refinement of the ICU indicator.  This indicator is currently triggered if a county’s regional ICU capacity exceeds 80%.  The indicator will now be triggered if capacity exceeds 80% and more than 20% of the ICU beds are being used by COVID patients. 

As noted above, the Governor issued a travel advisory for all states that currently have a 15% test positivity rate (7-day average).  This is an advisory not an order, but Governor DeWine encouraged all travelers to and from those states to self-quarantine for 14-days following travel.  These advisories will be updated every week.

Governor DeWine addressed the conduct of county fairs around the state.  He said that while some fairs were doing a good job following the guidelines, he had received reports that some were not.  And some outbreaks have been linked to those fairs.  Governor DeWine noted that he spoke with fair directors and stressed that they must follow guidelines in order to continue operations.  Local health departments will be working closely with the fair boards to ensure compliance. 

The Governor again cautioned people to be careful in the events they attend.  He provided multiple stories from around the state of people holding gatherings, small and large alike, who did not observe social distancing and many who did not wear masks, that have led to outbreaks amongst attendees.  Jill from Clark County joined the press conference to provide personal testimony regarding the outbreak that followed her family gathering earlier this month.  She said she believes an asymptomatic carrier attended the party and passed it to several attendees, including Jill herself.  She felt it was important to share her story to help de-stigmatize and de-politicize taking the necessary health and safety precautions.

Lt. Governor Jon Husted discussed the letter that the Governor signed, along with 20 other governors, to congressional leadership calling for targeted liability protections to shield employers from legal risks associated with the spread of the virus, as long as safety guidelines are being followed.  The letter requests that the protections be narrowly drawn so as to not give license for gross negligence, misconduct or recklessness. 

In response to questions from the media, the Governor did say that he does not support the repeal of House Bill 6, the measure implicated in yesterday’s arrests.  The Governor said he supports the policy behind the bill - the jobs, the energy diversity and cleaner aspects that nuclear power provides the state.  Lt. Governor Husted concurred.  Governor DeWine also reiterated his call for the Speaker to resign and said he is reviewing the House’s rules should Speaker Householder choose not to resign on his own. 

Upcoming Calfee events

If you missed a prior webinar and would like to catch up, please visit: Calfee Webinars

Other items of note

• Ohio gained 208,000 jobs last month as the state's unemployment rate fell by three percentage points, according to the Department of Job and Family Services.  ODJFS on Friday reported Ohio had a jobless rate of 10.9% for June, down from a revised 13.9% in May. The state had an unemployment rate of 4.1% in June 2019.  The number of unemployed workers in the state last month was 631,000, down from 797,000 in May.  The U.S. unemployment rate for June was 11.1%, down from 13.3% in May. 
• Fans at NFL games this season will be required to wear face masks, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said.  United Airlines expanded its mask requirement to include customer service counters, gates and baggage claims as well as its planes.
• A coalition of dozens of education and civic groups are asking Congress to provide billions of dollars in emergency funding to repair aging, crumbling school buildings that are an obstacle to the safe reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic.  BASIC, or [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition, said in a letter sent to congressional leaders that there is an urgent need for $10 billion to be targeted to at least 14,000 schools in the highest-poverty communities that are in the poorest physical shape.
• Australia confirmed more than 500 novel coronavirus cases Wednesday, marking the country’s largest single-day increase in cases yet.  Nearly all of the new cases were diagnosed in Victoria state, where infection numbers have recently started to rise, alarming officials. Melbourne, the state’s capital, started a six-week lockdown this month in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, but cases have continued to increase.  Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded Wednesday for people to follow isolation guidelines. Between July 7 and July 21, he said, nearly 90 percent of people who tested positive in Victoria state did not self-isolate between when their symptoms began and they were tested. More than 50 percent of people who tested positive in that same period, he said, did not self-isolate between when they were tested for the virus and when they got their results.

Ohio COVID-19 Data Curves

The following are graphic representations of reported cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths using Ohio Department of Health data and expanded CDC definitions.

Friday – 1,112,019 tested – 9.53% of the population - 27,287 additional tests

Saturday – 1,134,298 tested – 9.72% of the population – 22,279 additional tests

Sunday – 1,158,737 tested – 9.93% of the population – 24,439 additional tests

Monday – 1,177,696 tested – 10.09% of the population – 18,959 additional tests

Tuesday – 1,195,771 tested – 10.25% of the population - 18,075 additional tests

Wednesday – 1,217,262 tested – 10.43% of the population – 21,491 additional tests

Note: For an archive of all COVID-19 related First Alerts from Calfee, which are separate from these emails and focused on specific business topics, please visit the Calfee COVID-19 Resource Center: https://www.calfee.com/covid-19-resource-center