COLUMBUS – Faced with rising numbers of COVID-19 infections, Ohio’s children’s hospitals are issuing a plea to school officials: please require students and staff to wear masks.
Governor Mike DeWine echoed that request, giving the leaders of some of the hospitals a share of his bully pulpit during a live televised press conference Tuesday, and the Republican said he would issue a statewide mask mandate to slow spiking cases of the coronavirus if lawmakers from his own party hadn’t tied his hands through a strict restriction on public health orders.
“They have the ability to do that, there is no 30-day waiting period, they can do it right away. And, the Legislature has made it very clear that, if we put on a mandate for kids in school to wear a mask, that they will take it off,” DeWine said.
The GOP-controlled General Assembly passed the law earlier this year and overrode DeWine’s veto.
DeWine says he fears that a fight with the Legislature over the restrictions could cause confusion and even send the state backward.
The leaders of the state’s six children’s hospitals stated their case during a virtual meeting Tuesday with school superintendents from across the state, saying that children sick with COVID-19 are flooding hospitals and putting an unprecedented strain on providers.
“This is a perfect storm, and it’s impacting kids like it hasn’t before. It’s a combination driven by COVID-19 cases increasing, primarily driven by the Delta variant, increasing respiratory illnesses, more mental health challenges, and staffing challenges,” Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, told reporters.
The number of COVID-19 cases among 5- to 17-year-olds during the week of Sept. 4 was 198 percent higher than the week of August 15th as the delta variant of the coronavirus causes a swell in COVID-19 cases in every Ohio county.
There’s no place that you can run from the COVID,” DeWine said.
COVID-19 cases are increasing at nearly twice the rate among school-aged kids as compared to the rest of the population, DeWine and the health leaders said.
“We are in uncharted territory. Not just in children’s hospitals, but adult hospitals as well,” Dr. Rustin Morse, CEO of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said. “The infrastructure is strained like it hasn’t been before. We are asking people to get vaccinated if they aren’t already, and we are asking them to wear masks.”
They warned that children who have been in accidents or have other serious ailments may find it difficult to get treatment when hospitals become crowded with COVID-19 patients.
DeWine is far from alone in his frustration with lawmakers.
A review of hundreds of pieces of legislation across the United States shows that Republican legislators in more than half of the states are taking away the powers state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases.
The review conducted by Kaiser Health News, or KHN, also found that in all 50 states, legislators have proposed bills to curb such public health powers since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
While some governors vetoed bills that passed, as DeWine did, at least 26 states pushed through laws that permanently weaken government authority to protect public health.
School districts where masks are optional have seen a 54 percent week-over-week increase in COVID-19 cases compared to a 34 percent increase where masks are required, according to data presented during the briefing.
COVID-19 deaths and cases in the U.S. have climbed to levels not seen since last winter, wiping out months of progress in the battle against the disease.
The U.S. is averaging over 1,800 COVID-19 deaths and 170,000 new cases per day.
That is still well below the peak of about 3,400 deaths and a quarter-million cases per day in January. But it’s frustrating for health care leaders to see it happen nine months into the nation’s vaccination drive.
Ohio Dominican vaccine requirement
Ohio Dominican University is the latest central Ohio university to announce a COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
All students, faculty and staff, including those who learn and work remotely, will be required to show proof of full vaccination by Nov. 15, university officials announced Tuesday.
Exemptions may be granted for medical or religious reasons.
The university’s indoor mask mandate, which applies to classrooms, hallways, residence halls and dining halls, remains in effect.