Throughout the week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was joined by Lt. Governor Jon Husted and First Lady Fran DeWine,?and provided updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other state initiatives.
On Monday, Governor DeWine issued a statement to Congress urging passage of another COVID-19 relief package.
"I strongly urge Congress to pass a much-needed bipartisan COVID-19 relief package before leaving Washington for the holiday recess.
"We are grateful in Ohio for the significant federal assistance provided to date, but more relief is desperately needed to support the ongoing state and local government response to this pandemic and to help our citizens, businesses, health care providers, essential workers, and schools as we face the public health and economic challenges that remain.
"The COVID-19 vaccine trials have demonstrated promising results. However, until we reach community immunity, the virus remains a great health and economic threat. In Ohio, we are seeing record-high cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
"Many vital CARES Act programs have already run out, and more are set to expire before the end of the year. Ohio?s workers, families, small businesses and industries, health care professionals, schools and children are struggling. Additional substantial aid is essential. Continued investment will not only allow us to dampen the economic fallout in Ohio and slow a potential recession in the coming years, but ultimately, it will also help our citizens to return to normal when the pandemic ends.
"I remain grateful for the ongoing state, local, and federal partnership in the face of the pandemic. Continued support from Congress is essential to keep the Ohio economy open and protect the lives and livelihoods of all Ohioans."
Also on Monday, Governor DeWine discussed the Ohio Department of Health aligning with the Center of Disease Control and Prevention?s (CDC) current case definition. In August, the CDC changed the case definition of antigen testing to include case counts without additional verification.? Ohio has continued to manually verify an epidemiological link, such as a known positive contact, with an antigen positive test result.
On Tuesday, December 8, the department began including antigen tests without an epidemiological link in the total case count. This resulted in a one-day spike in reported cases from pending positive antigen cases.?
?After understanding more about the antigen testing, the CDC changed their definition. Our epidemiologists have alerted us that they are no longer able to keep up with the manual verification process of antigen testing because there is so much COVID-19 spread in Ohio,? said Governor DeWine. ?Antigen tests have become a bigger part of our overall picture of understanding COVID-19, and it?s important to capture that information.?
K-12 EDUCATION UPDATE
The Ohio Department of Education continues to report limited spread of COVID-19 in a classroom setting, but an increase of community spread from informal gatherings outside of school.
The department also tracks how many districts are hosting in-person, hybrid, or remote learning.?
?This week, you can see that a lot of districts, especially in northeast Ohio, are fully remote.? Once we get community spread under control, schools will feel safe going back to in-person learning," said Governor DeWine.?
DATAOHIO PORTAL
Lt. Governor Husted announced the launch of the?DataOhio Portal,?which delivers datasets and interactive visualizations to Ohioans.? This portal delivers unprecedented access through an innovative, data-sharing platform for state agencies and their partners.?
?We?ve all learned over the past year how critical data is to tackling our biggest challenges,? said Lt. Governor Husted. ?The IOP team has built a one-stop-shop for the state?s data, providing a secure approach to data access and displaying datasets that, in some cases, are available now?for the first time. This collaboration will?help Ohio make?better public policy decisions so we can better serve the people of our state."
ADDITIONAL GUESTS
During Monday?s briefing, Governor DeWine was joined by two nurses who discussed their experiences treating patients with coronavirus.
CJ Adams, nurse manager at TriHealth Bethesda North Hospital, discussed the challenges associated with bed and staffing capacities. Adams was a Captain in the Air Force Reserves and shared how her military experience has helped build her leadership and resiliency skills.
Also on Monday, Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted announced the approval of assistance for 16 projects set to create 4,183 new jobs and retain 1,051 jobs statewide. During its monthly meeting, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) reviewed economic development proposals brought to the board by JobsOhio and its regional partners. Collectively, the projects are expected to result in more than $240 million in new payroll and spur more than $864 million in investments across Ohio.
On Wednesday, Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine encouraged more Ohio children to enroll in Ohio?s Imagination Library Program as a new documentary about Imagination Library founder Dolly Parton premiered. ?The Library That Dolly Built? is a behind-the-scenes look at the Imagination Library Program country music singer Dolly Parton started in 1995 to encourage reading to preschool children.
In 2019, the Ohio Governor?s Imagination Library Program partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to spread the program throughout Ohio. Partnerships and funding have been established in each of Ohio?s 88 counties, so that all children who enroll ? from birth to age 5 ? can receive a free book in the mail each month to help accelerate their development.
?Dolly Parton and her dedication to children?s literacy and this program is so inspiring,? said Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine. ?We share a belief that the gift of reading is one of the best things you can give a child. We are proud of all the partners in Ohio that have ensured that every single eligible Ohio child can receive these books every month.? ?
Currently 255,672 Ohio children younger than age 5, or 35% of eligible children, receive the Ohio Governor?s Imagination Library books. Nearly 2 million children worldwide receive free monthly books from the Imagination Library.
On Thursday,?Governor DeWine unveiled the new Stay Safe Ohio Protocol. The protocol was developed in partnership with medical professionals across the state to inform Ohioans how to safely live with the virus.
Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Health will be extending the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. statewide curfew until January 2, 2021.
The curfew does not apply to those going to and from work, those who have an emergency, or those who need medical care. The curfew is not intended to stop anyone from getting groceries or going to the pharmacy.? Picking up carry-out or a drive-thru meal and ordering for delivery will be permitted, but serving food and drink within an establishment must cease at 10 p.m.
?COVID-19 is the single greatest threat to the physical well-being of all Ohioans, the mental health of our citizens, and our economic security,? said Governor DeWine. ?We must do everything we can to slow down the spread of this virus.?
The decision to extend the curfew was made with input from the medical and business communities with consideration to the economic impact and health care system.
New health data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) showed sustained severe exposure and spread (Purple Level 4) in Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark and Summit counties. Ashland and Guernsey counties were moved to the Watch List.
Noble, Harrison and Washington counties moved to Red Level 3 for the first time since implementation of the Advisory System in April.
The Ohio Department of Health will issue a variance to the curfew for specific sporting events in Ohio. The start times of these games are dictated by national television contracts, and as a result, the games would not be finished until after the 10 p.m. curfew.
More information will be available at coronavirus.ohio.gov in the coming days.
DINE SAFE
Lt. Governor Husted encouraged Ohioans to do what they can to support local restaurants during this time, whether it?s by carrying out a meal at least once a week or by ordering delivery. He also recommended giving out restaurant gift cards as gifts for family and friends this holiday season.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
As another update in Ohio?s economic recovery, Lt. Governor Husted discussed two new projects that are putting Ohio on the map as far as innovation in transportation technology.
Agility Prime: On Thursday, Lt. Governor Husted joined officials from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton Development Coalition, JobsOhio, City of Springfield, BETA Technologies, and Joby Aviation to participate in a virtual groundbreaking event for a new advanced urban air mobility technology simulator facility at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.
The Air Force recently launched the program, which seeks to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility aircraft and create a robust domestic industry and supply chain to support their development and production.
Waymo:?Last week, Waymo ? one of the world leaders in autonomous driving technology ? announced their plan to develop new proprietary features at TRC?s SMARTCenter to help them advance their Waymo Driver self-driving system and driverless Class 8 truck. This is a big win for Ohio as it?s the?first time Waymo has established a permanent presence at a third-party test site.
Lt. Governor Husted underscored what these announcements mean to Ohio?s recovery and how they attract investment, new technologies and workforce development.
?This can really be an important part of the foundation for our economic recovery in 2021,? Lt. Governor Husted said. ?We really welcome these new investments from companies who are outside of Ohio ? who are bringing their investments to Ohio ? to start brand new innovations, brand new companies and brand new technologies that we hope will benefit Ohioans for generations to come.?
FOODBANKS
First Lady Fran DeWine encouraged Ohioans to consider donating to The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which serves all 88 counties. The Ohio National Guard has assisted foodbanks throughout the state this year in distributing more than 79 million pounds of food.?
On Friday,?Governor DeWine issued a proclamation that authorizes the Ohio National Guard to provide security support at local jails if needed.
The proclamation was issued in response to the significant number of COVID-19 infections amongst state, county, and local corrections officers that has reduced staffing levels required to maintain safe and adequate security at some facilities.?
Governor DeWine previously ordered the Ohio National Guard into state active duty to assist the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction with security at state prisons, and today's proclamation amends that order to also permit Guard members to maintain security at any correctional facility, county jail, or confinement facility in the state.?
More information can be found in the proclamation at governor.ohio.gov.?
This week, Governor DeWine made two appointments to county common pleas courts.
Karen K. Gallagher was appointed to the Williams County Court of Common Pleas, Probate and Juvenile Division. Gallagher, of Bryan, will assume office on December 31, 2020, and will be replacing Judge Steven R. Bird. She will begin a full-term commencing February 9, 2021.
Zachary L. Saunders was appointed to the Athens County Court of Common Pleas, Probate and Juvenile Division.?Saunders, of The Plains, will assume office on December 17, 2020, and will be replacing Judge Kenneth Ryan. He will begin a full-term commencing February 9, 2021.
As of Friday, there have been 542,209 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 7,426 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 31,536 people have been hospitalized, including 5,134 admissions to intensive care units.?In-depth data can be accessed by visiting?coronavirus.ohio.gov.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit?coronavirus.ohio.gov?or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
?30?
MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Tierney: 614-644-0957
This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities ? 150 E. Campus View Blvd ? Columbus, Ohio 43235
