COLUMBUS – Gov. Mike DeWine has promised an order on mass gatherings in Ohio as the state copes with the coronavirus outbreak but some large organizations are getting ahead of the curve by canceling events or limiting attendance.
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
The state has confirmed a fourth case of the disease, a Stark County man who has not traveled recently and didn’t have contact with anyone else with coronavirus, which health director Dr. Amy Acton is says is an indication the virus has spread across Ohio.
“This means that, as of today, we have moved into a new phase of this crisis,” DeWine told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus:
Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds often with soap and water.
If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
-Source: Ohio Dept. of Health/CDC
DeWine ordered nursing home visits restricted to one person per day per resident. The order came a day after he listed several recommendation aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
The Columbus City Schools, the state’s largest school district, on Wednesday canceled all evening events through the end of March, including concerts, plays, school dances and any other “non-essential events that include outside spectators.”
In the Hilliard City Schools, after-school indoor events are postponed or canceled until at least March 30 and the Worthington School District is moving to postpone or cancel several of its events, according to a post on the district website.
The Dublin City Schools have postponed all indoor after school gatherings or events, such as concerts, PTO festivals and fundraisers, and plays, until at least April 13.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they would play the rest of their home games without fans in the stands, starting Thursday night’s game against Pittsburgh, the first NHL team to make that move.
Ohio State has cancelled the Spring Game, scheduled for April 11 and announced that attendance at all athletic events for the remainder of the academic year would be be closed to the public.
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Those developments mirrored others around the nation as the NBA suspended its season until further notice and the NCAA announced that March Madness basketball tournament games would not be open to the general public because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
Cancellations are sweeping across Ohio.
Cincinnati canceled its Findlay Market Opening Day Parade on March 26, a 100-year tradition on the Reds’ opening day. The Cleveland Orchestra canceled three concerts scheduled for this week.
DeWine did not go into detail about what the order concerning crowds and large events might include He said he didn’t want the state to interfere with the lives of individuals but called on Ohioans to exercise common sense and not take unnecessary risks.
“We all do things to calculate a risk and the message to the people of the State of Ohio today is there is a new big, huge, risk in your life,” he said.
After learning that a staff member in another Senate office tested positive for coronavirus, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown decided to temporarily close his Washington D.C. office and directed his staff to work from home.
The entire Capitol complex was closed to outside visitors Thursday as a precaution, Brown said in a statement. He said neither he nor any member of his staff was experiencing symptoms.