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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine – saying coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths cannot continue at current high levels – has said he is re-issuing the statewide mask order with new provisions.
DeWine, a Republican, also said on a Wednesday night broadcast that if cases and other trends continue to rise, the state will be forced to close restaurants, bars and fitness centers. His team will look at the trends a week from Thursday and make a decision, he said.
“I am very aware of the burden this will place on employees and owners” of bars, restaurants and gyms, he said. “But, these are places where it is difficult or impossible to keep wearing a mask, what we now know is the main way to slow this virus.”
DeWine’s address comes as Ohio experiences an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases: while it took the state more than three months to report 50,000 COVID-19 cases at the start of the pandemic, more recently, the state added 50,000 cases over 13 days.
“We are in the middle of our third wave in Ohio,” said the governor, explaining that the first two waves occurred in the spring and summer.
He called the current wave the most critical.
“We had been warned that when it got colder and colder and people got further indoors, the virus would come back up,” DeWine said, in a 25-minute speech that proposed more policy changes than his last. Wednesday evening speech, delivered on July 15. , before he issued a statewide mask order.
New mask command
Of the three new provisions in the mask ordinance, the most notable is that DeWine is redeploying state employees to ensure compliance and plans to punish those who fail to comply with the public health ordinance.
Here are the provisions, DeWine said:
1. Each retail business will be required to post a face-covering requirement sign at all public entrances to the store;
2. Each store will be responsible for ensuring that customers and employees wear masks; and
3. A new retail compliance unit, made up of officers headed by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, will inspect businesses to ensure compliance. A first violation of this order will result in a written warning and a second violation will cause the store to close for up to 24 hours.
“We know the masks work,” DeWine said. “They are the easiest, most cost effective way to limit the spread of COVID-19.”
He argued that workers and buyers have the right to be safe.
New order of social gathering
Since April, Ohio has limited gatherings to a maximum of 10 people for public events and private gatherings.
“Despite this order, we have witnessed a rampant spread of the virus following banquets, wedding receptions and social gatherings after the funeral,” he said. “We have seen a great tragedy associated with such events. It’s not the ceremonies that are causing the problem. It’s the party after.
A new public health decree, which will be signed in the coming days, will require everyone to be seated and masked during such events, unless they are actively consuming food and drink.
The order will also ban dancing and games at social gatherings.
A warning to the public about schools
DeWine believes that it is better for the well-being of children to be in school rather than to learn from a distance, he said.
“Our K-12 schools do a fantastic job and I thank them,” he said.
However, he is concerned about the outbreak, saying it threatens classroom teaching. Some schools have already made the choice to switch to virtual learning, “so we need to do everything in our power to slow this virus down so that our children can stay in school,” he said.
He said “the vast majority” of colleges and universities in Ohio have agreed not to return to in-person learning after the Thanksgiving break. He believes that reducing the number of students on campus can make a significant difference in the number of cases.
“But, unless we significantly slow the community spread of the virus, our higher education institutions may need to remain virtual when the school opens in January,” he said.
Hopes for a vaccine
DeWine reminded viewers that Wednesday is Veterans Day – to salute people who have made greater sacrifices than themselves. Anyone in Ohio can emulate that selfless spirit, he said.
“My fellow Ohio people, at a few times in our life we will be able to do something or refrain from doing something that will save or may save a life,” he said. “It’s one of those rare moments.”
DeWine noted that Pfizer Inc. announced Monday that its vaccine was 90% effective – claims that have yet to be independently verified.
A vaccine could be available soon – DeWine said as early as December, although this has yet to be verified by federal regulators. But the end of the pandemic could be near.
“It should give us all great hope,” he said.
More coverage:
Governor Mike DeWine to air statewide coronavirus show at 5:30 p.m.: watch live
5,874 new cases of coronavirus in Ohio, 76 more deaths: Wednesday update
Expect more calls to rethink Thanksgiving and the holidays in the coming weeks, say Ohio medical experts
Ohio hospital officials warn understaffing due to coronavirus infection could mean some people go untreated
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