COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine dropped a broad hint during his Tuesday news briefing from the Statehouse that he may extend the stay-at-home order issued on March 22 to stop the spread of COVID-19 and which was scheduled to expire Monday.
We've made difficult decisions, but we have to get through this. We can't let this monster come up – we have to keep pushing it down. This is a critical time. We haven't had anything like this for 102 years, so it has to be that type of response. pic.twitter.com/AODvq5mZoV
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 31, 2020
He announced that he is extending his directive that 18,000 state employees work from home will remain in effect through at least May 1 and asked state agencies to find additional remote work opportunities.
“We would like to get kids back in school. Obviously, we would like to get restaurants open, we’d like to get bars open, we’d like to get back to normal but we just can’t do that yet,” he said.
DeWine Monday extended the closure of the state’s schools another three weeks, to May 1.
UPDATE 4/1/20 4:05 a.m.: Trump administration approves disaster declaration for Ohio.
There were 2,199 confirmed coronavirus cases in 71 of Ohio’s 88 counties with 55 deaths. There were at least 430 cases in central Ohio, including 4 fatalities as Columbus Public Health reported it’s first death, a 71-year-old man with underlying health conditions.
In Columbus, officials plan to open a shelter to house homeless people who have COVID-19 but don’t require hospitalization.The shelter, which is at an undisclosed location, will be staffed by volunteers from the Franklin County Medical Reserve Corps and volunteer medical and public health professionals.
The Community Shelter Board reported that more than 1,200 people sleep in homeless shelters in Columbus and Franklin County on any given night and another 600 sleep on the streets.
DeWine has ordered mandatory weekly online reporting of ventilator availability in case supplies need to be moved around.
Meanwhile, the state health department reports it has received its allotment of personal protection equipment such as gowns, gloves, goggles and masks, known as PPE, from the Strategic National Stockpile.
The shipment includes nealy 700,000 surgical masks and over 270,000 of the much-prized N-95 masks, as well as over 700,000 other items.
The Ohio Manufacturing Alliance, a coalition of manufacturers and hospitals, is urging companies to produce personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns and face shields.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has ordered water systems to reconnect customers whose service was disconnected after Jan. 1.