COLUMBUS – Still hoping to stem the tide of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Mike DeWine ordered barber shops, hair and nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors across Ohio shut down and is closing all but five of the state’s 186 deputy registrar offices.
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 five BMV sites and the three remaining driver’s license examination stations that will remain open will focus on issuing and renewing commercial driver’s licenses for truck-drivers DeWine says are essential to keeping Ohioans supplied with food, medicine and other necessities.
The central Ohio locations are the deputy registrar’s office at 4503 Kenny Road and the driver exam station at 4738 Cemetery Road.
Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy has closed the auto title office. Those is need of auto title services can mail the appropriate documentation to:
Auto Title South
45 Great Southern Blvd
Columbus OH 43207
DeWine says he will ask lawmakers to approve a grace period for anyone driving with an expired driver’s license during the time the BMV offices are shut down and will ask law enforcement officers to refrain from writing tickets to those motorists.
“Coping With Coronavirus:” Advice for parents, symptoms and more information
DeWine also encouraged business owners to begin taking the temperature of employees when they arrive at work in an effort to identify anyone who is becoming ill.
If this is not feasible, DeWine asked employers to require workers to take their own temperatures before work and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher should self-quarantine with members of their household.
“We want them to be very very aggressive and that employer should not want someone who is sick to be at work,” DeWine said.
NEW 3/19/20 9:48 a.m.: The COTA Board of Trustees has suspended all fares during the Coronavirus outbreak. Additionally, all customers will be asked to board through the rear doors.
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth and Mount Carmel Health Systems are implementing “no visitor” policies, except for end-of-life patients, patients with disabilities who need assistance, patients under 18 and maternity patients.
Central Ohio now has eight cases of the coronavirus, including a two-year-old Franklin County boy, the first case in Delaware County, and the first two cases associated with Ohio State University.
The state health department Wednesday reported 88 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in 19 counties. The 55 men and 33 women ranged in age from the toddler up to 91, health director Dr. Amy Acton said. Twenty-six of the patients were hospitalized, many in intensive-care units.