COVID-19 Update: Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities Testing Update, Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Inductees Announced, and Ohio To Work Initiative Begins

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)?Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today gave the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.?

TESTING IN NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES

Governor DeWine and Director Ursel McElroy of the Ohio Department of Aging provided an update on testing in nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, adult day centers, and adult day cares. Directory McElroy explained that frequent testing in congregate settings is important to control the spread of the virus.

She also mentioned that adult day care and senior centers will open on September 21^st. The facilities will test staff every other week and participants if they present symptoms. Outdoor visitation started at Ohio nursing homes on July 20^th. If visitors have questions about protocols or concerns about a facility in their area, they can contact the Ohio Department of Aging. The Department of Aging is working on a dashboard to increase transparency about the status of visitation at facilities across the state.

OHIO VETERANS HALL OF FAME

Governor DeWine announced that 20 women and men, representing four branches of the military will be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame at a virtual ceremony on November 5th. These Ohioans, from 16 counties, have continued to serve the United States as well as Ohio, as business owners, community volunteers, scientists, advocates, engineers, and much more.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame was established by Governor George Voinovich in 1992. Governor Voinovich established the Hall of Fame to recognize Ohio veterans? military service, as well as their service to Ohio and their communities after leaving the military. A total of 895 of Ohio?s Veterans have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. ?

The virtual ceremony can be viewed on November 5^th at OhioVets.gov.

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OHIO TO WORK

Governor DeWine, along with JP Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, announced that JobsOhio and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Governor?s Office of Workforce Transformation and the Ohio Development Services Agency will launch a pilot initiative called Ohio To Work. The Initiative will help connect Ohioans looking for a job to a new job opportunity. Ohio To Work brings together employers, nonprofits, educators, and training providers to help Ohioans reskill and restart their careers. Individuals participating in Ohio To Work will be provided a career coach, be invited to virtual career fairs, and be connected to employers ready to hire. The first Ohio To Work initiative will be launched in Cleveland- Cuyahoga County. Ohioans can learn more at OhioToWork.com.

CURRENT COVID-19 DATA

There are 139,485 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 4,506 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 14,481 people have been hospitalized, including 3,111 admissions to intensive care units.?In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.?

Rankings of Ohio's 88 counties by highest occurrence can be found below.?

Video of today's full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the?Ohio Channel's YouTube page.?

For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit?coronavirus.ohio.gov?or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

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