Throughout the week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other state initiatives.
For the third week, Governor DeWine toured COVID-19 vaccination clinics throughout the state, including stops in Mahoning, Stark, Summit, and Miami counties.
In the photo above, Governor DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine, along with Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, tour a vaccination clinic at Eugenia Atkinson Recreation Center in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday, March 22.
Last Saturday, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 67 into law:
House Bill 67, sponsored by Representatives Kyle Koehler and Adam Bird,?amends Section 6 of?House Bill 409?of the 133rd General Assembly with regard to state assessments, high school graduation requirements, and community school sponsor evaluations for the 2020-2021 school year; requires the Department of Education to seek a waiver from federal accountability and school identification requirements; and declares an emergency.
To ensure that the bill's provisions go into effect during the 2020-2021 school year, this bill contains an emergency clause and went into effect immediately upon signing.
On Monday, Governor DeWine announced that local health departments and hospitals that are having a hard time filling appointments with individuals who are currently eligible for the vaccine may book appointments with anyone 16 years old and older.
Currently, anyone age 40 or older is eligible to receive the vaccine. Eligibility will drop to any Ohioan age 16 and up beginning on Monday, March 29.?
NURSING HOME VISITATION ORDERS
As detailed during his Monday press conference, Governor DeWine on Tuesday announced that Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud has signed the following orders:
General visitation requirements for nursing homes and assisted living facilities remain the same, including the requirement that visitors schedule appointments in advance, are screened at the door, and wear masks.?Changes to the orders include:?
Ohio is?requiring that visitation be permitted whenever safety protocols can be met.?Previously, visitation was permitted, not required.
Vaccinated residents may have physical touch with their visitor while wearing a mask. Previously, touch was discouraged.
Visits may occur in a resident?s private room, as opposed to the previous requirement of a separate visitation area.
30 minutes should serve as the minimum amount of time for a visit. Previously, 30 minutes was the maximum time to visit.
The order also expands the circumstances in which compassionate care visits should be granted.
In addition, the order updates nursing home and assisted living testing requirements to require?the facilities to test vaccinated staff once per week and unvaccinated staff twice per week. The previous order made no distinction between vaccinated or unvaccinated staff.
Also on Tuesday, Governor DeWine vetoed Senate Bill 22, issuing a veto message stating, in part, "Senate Bill 22 jeopardizes the safety of every Ohioan. It goes well beyond the issues that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. SB 22 strikes at the heart of local health departments? ability to move quickly to protect the public from the most serious emergencies Ohio could face."
On Thursday, Governor DeWine announced that?more than 46,000 people have been vaccinated at the?state-federal mass vaccination clinic at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center. Next week will be the final segment of first doses vaccines.
Starting April 6, second doses will begin to be administered. Appointments can be scheduled by visiting?gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. or by calling 1-833-427-5634 (1-833-4-ASK-ODH).
REGIONAL MASS VACCINATION SITES
Next week, Ohio will open 11 stationary mass vaccination sites and four mobile clinics that will travel throughout specific regions of the state. The stationary mass vaccination sites will be held at:
The Knights of Columbus, Lima, Ohio
The Lucas County Rec Center, Maumee, Ohio
Dayton-Montgomery County Convention Center, Dayton, Ohio
The Celeste Center, Columbus, Ohio
The Summit County Fairgrounds, Akron, Ohio
The site of the former Dillard's at Southern Park Mall, Youngstown, Ohio
The Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
The Wilmington Airpark, Wilmington, Ohio
Adena Medical Education Center, Chillicothe, Ohio
Wayne Street Medical Campus, Marietta, Ohio
Colony Square Mall, Zanesville, Ohio
Additionally, an Ohio Northern University mobile clinic will start next week and travel between Wyandot, Marion, Union, Logan, Crawford and Hardin counties.
The Ohio University Mobile Clinic will travel between Lawrence, Meigs, Vinton, Washington, Morgan and Perry counties.?
Additional details about the stationary and mobile clinics will be available at?coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Appointments can be scheduled by?visiting?gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. or by calling 1-833-427-5634 (1-833-4-ASK-ODH). Appointments will be available for Ohioans ages 16 years and older.?
VACCINE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
The Ohio Department of Aging has created the Vaccine Maintenance Program to ensure new residents and employees, and established residents and employees who previously decided not to receive a vaccine, can still choose to receive one.?
"We are eager to partner with facilities across the state to ensure our long-term care residents and their caregivers are protected from COVID-19," said Governor DeWine.??
The?list of facilities?includes nursing homes and assisted living facilities who have not indicated their willingness to participate in the Vaccine Maintenance Program or how they would make vaccinations available to their residents and staff.??
BMV WEBSITE REDESIGN
Lt. Governor Husted and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) announced the launch of a vastly improved,?more user-friendly BMV website. The redesign?allows Ohio customers to have a faster, easier and more streamlined experience when they?are using?this resource. ?
"We've already?heard from many Ohioans who have found the newly redesigned site to be cleaner, more efficient and much easier to use," said Lt. Governor Husted, who also serves as Director of InnovateOhio. "The teams at InnovateOhio and the BMV built this site with?the customer in mind so?that when?someone visits BMV.Ohio.Gov,?they can?quickly find?what?they're looking for, get their question answered, and go on with their day."
The newly redesigned website features a number of enhanced tools including a?simplified authentication process for logging in, a dynamic search?function?to help?customers?explore by keyword, and a new ?My BMV? profile allowing the user to see the status of their driver?s license, organ donation options, driving record, and more, all on one page as compared to the?more than?ten?pages it was previously. Additionally, Ohioans will have an easier time utilizing the site on their mobile device.
TEAM OHIO RECOGNITION
Lt. Governor Husted also announced that this week, Government Technology Magazine named its annual Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers. This program annually recognizes the work of innovators around the country to improve state and local government through technology.??
Along with 21 individuals, the magazine recognized four teams. Among those teams was ?Team Ohio,? including Lt. Governor Husted and Ervan Rodgers, the State Chief Information Officer and Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.
The magazine focused on the state?s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Ohio?s ongoing focus on making use of technology assets to improve the well-being of Ohioans and their health, property, security, livelihood, and prosperity.
OHIO PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY SYSTEM
New health data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health shows declining rates of COVID-19 exposure and spread in ten counties.?
Dropping from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2: Brown, Columbiana, Coshocton, Fulton, Lawrence, and Logan.?
Dropping from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 1: Holmes and Van Wert.?
JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES UPDATE
Governor DeWine announced a new agreement between the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Google to conduct data analytics on all outstanding claims. Google will review claims for markers and patterns of fraud. This will allow the department to prioritize and quickly process legitimate, outstanding claims.?
Additionally, Governor DeWine announced that David DeVillers, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, will join the Public-Private Partnership Team (P3) as the law enforcement subject matter expert.? He will serve as a liaison between the department and local, state and federal law enforcement.?
As of Friday, there have been 1,008,913 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio. Additionally, 18,530 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the state; 18,526 were Ohio residents.?A total of 52,650 people have been hospitalized, including 7,383 admissions to intensive care units.
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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