COLUMBUS – In the face of a spreading coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Mike DeWine is warning that Ohio schools — closing for three weeks after today — may not reopen during the current academic year.
The Ohio Department of Health call center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to answer questions regarding COVID-19 at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
Click here for the latest information from the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“We hope, obviously, that kids are back in school as soon as possible but certainly the odds are that three weeks is not going to do it, that we’re not going to be far enough along in this pandemic,” he told reporters at a Statehouse briefing Sunday afternoon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that gatherings of 50 people or more in US be canceled or postponed over the next eight weeks.
“This is the real thing,” Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said. “This is not a drill. This is the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that gatherings of 50 people or more in US be canceled or postponed over the next eight weeks. The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States climbed to 69, while about 3,700 have been infected.
DeWine took another dramatic step-Sunday, ordering all bars and restaurants in Ohio closed except for takeout and delivery amid concerns about crowded bars, especially in light of the upcoming St. Patrick’s holiday.
He is issuing an executive order Monday giving the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services the authority to waive the one-week waiting period fore granting requests for unemployment benefits, which he says will help workers who are not offered paid leave and those who have been quarantined.
The state has confirmed central Ohio’s first cases of the virus, one in the city of Columbus and two in Franklin County, outside of Columbus.
One of the cases involves a Columbus firefighter, forcing the shutdown of a Northeast Side fire station for a while on Sunday for cleaning.