COLUMBUS – Columbus City Council Monday night approved an ordinance that requires bars and restaurants to close down at 10:00 p.m. starting Tuesday to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
That is an hour earlier than the time requested last week by Mayor Andrew Ginther and Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts. It was amended following meetings over the weekend with representatives of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which named Columbus among 11 cities where “aggressive” measure should be taken to slow the spread of COVID-19.
They rejected the idea of a total shutdown, but Roberts says her agency’s compliance teams noticed that patrons were not social distancing as well late in the evening as they might have been a couple of hours earlier.
“We see a change in behavior, really starting around 10:00, and it gets worse as the evening goes on,” she said during a joint news conference with Ginther Monday.
Roberts says there were 12,379 cases of COVID-19 in Columbus Monday.
The state reported 1,104 new cases Monday for a total of 85,177 with 3,344 deaths.
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The All American Quarter Horse Congress is the latest major event in Columbus to fall victim to the coronavirus.
The congress, scheduled for Sept. 29 – Oct. 25, was cancelled due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.
The show attracts more than 650,000 people to the Columbus area and generates $409 million for the central Ohio economy
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The director of Ohio’s prison system has announced that she has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Annette Chambers-Smith is head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which oversees Ohio’s 46,000 inmates.
Chambers-Smith told staff that she received the results Monday after being tested Friday because she wasn’t feeling well.
The agency says the director is working from home and has mild symptoms.
Chambers-Smith has not been inside a prison since June 26 and hasn’t been in the office since July 21.
More than 5,000 inmates have tested positive to date, with nearly 90 inmate deaths.