DeWine: Keep calm and stay home

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COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine and the other state officials who joined him at the podium for his daily Statehouse briefing on the coronavirus outbreak did their best to calm Ohioans’ worst fears about the pandemic while also commnunicating a sense of urgency.

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

DeWine himself and health director Dr. Amy Acton sounded the notes of concern, reminding Ohioans that the threat from the virus is real and asking the public to “heed our guidance” and stay home whenever possible.

DeWine and other officials engaged in rumor control on other topics:

National Guard: They are not involved in carrying weapons, DeWine said. You may see them carrying groceries. Guard troops were deployed to distribute food.

Statewide quarantine: Rumors about quarantining everyone in their homes, martial law – none of this is true, DeWine’s office tweeted.

Banks: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted says he was on a conference call with several financial CEOs and they emphasized the banking system is well. “Your banks will be there for you and you can count on them.”

Food: The supply chain is intact but can only go so fast. Crowded stores and panic-buying make it hard for stores to keep up.

“It’s not that the supply chain has been disrupted in any way. It’s that they can only go so fast and if we crowd the stores, then we create the problem for everybody else,” Husted said.

Target, Walmart, Whole Foods and Dollar General were among the retailers who have begun reserving early morning shopping times for older customers this week, allowing seniors to shop among smaller crowds could reduce their chances of acquiring the virus and give them first crack at buying hand sanitizer and other products that have been hard to find because of panic shopping.

“Shelter in place” (aka statewide quarantine): DeWine says the state has already effecvtively asked people to shelter in place by asking them to stay home if they can.

“Coping With Coronavirus:” Advice for parents, symptoms and more information

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state jumped from 88 to 119 Thursday, including 12 from central Ohio. Among the 76 men and 43 women was a childcare center worker at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who tested positive for the virus Wednesday night.

The youngest victim is a two-year-old boy from Franklin County. The oldest patient is 91. Thirty-three patients have been hospitalized but Ohio still has not recorded a death from the virus.

The Delaware County Board of Commissioners Thursday declared a state of emergency and adopted a temporary COVID-19 Emergency Operations Plan, which becomes effective Friday morning and continues through April 5. It allows the county to exercise certain powers not permitted during normal circumstances.

Board meetings on sessions on March 23 and March 30 have been canceled and public comment will not be included because public access to the commissioners’ building will be restricted.

The Delaware General Health District has announced there have been two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, both travel-related anmd not the result of community spread.

The US State Department on Thursday warned American citizens not to travel abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic, issuing its highest level travel alert.

The Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory cautions U.S. citizens to “avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19.”