(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Dr. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, today provided the following COVID-19 updates.
PANDEMIC EBT PLAN:
Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (OJFS) has received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture for its Pandemic EBT plan. The Pandemic EBT program was included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020.
The approval will allow OJFS to distribute SNAP benefits to 850,000 students across Ohio who relied on free or reduced-price meal programs when school was in session to have access to a hot, nutritious meal. The benefits will be mailed directly to students, and families do not need to apply to be eligible.
Families will receive approximately $300 to purchase healthy and nutritious foods to feed their children. These benefits amount to more than $250 million that will go to our grocery stores and other eligible retailers.
MASSAGE THERAPY, ACUPUNCTURE, COSMETIC THERAPY:
Lt. Governor Husted announced today that sectors licensed by the State Medical Board of Ohio, including massage therapy, acupuncture, cosmetic therapy will be permitted to reopen on May 15 with the implementation of proper safety measures.
To ensure that these establishments operate in the safest manner possible, the State Medical Board of Ohio worked with members of Governor DeWine’s Personal Services Advisory Group and the Ohio Department of Health to create a detailed list of guidelines and best practices for these service providers to follow. The full list of mandatory and recommended best practices can be found at coronaviurs.ohio.gov.
TATTOO AND BODY PIERCING SERVICES:
Tattoo and body piercing services will also be permitted to reopen on May 15 with the implementation of proper safety measures.
To ensure that these establishments operate in the safest manner possible, Governor DeWine’s Personal Services Advisory Group created a detailed list of guidelines and best practices for these service providers to follow. The full list of mandatory and recommended best practices can be found at coronaviurs.ohio.gov.
OLDER ADULTS – STAYING CONNECTED:
To help ensure that older Ohioans stay connected while staying at home, Ohio Department of Aging Director Ursel McElroy announced a new service today that will provide a daily check-in by phone for Ohioans age 60 or older.
The Staying Connected program will call older adults who sign up for the service during a predetermined window of time. When participants answer the phone, they will be asked to respond via touch-tone to confirm that they are OK or to access live support.
If no one answers after three attempts, a call is then made to an alternate contact (if provided) or to non-emergency services. The service can be canceled at any time.
“Especially during this very challenging time, we encourage older Ohioans to sign up for the Ohio Department of Aging’s Staying Connected phone program. This program will help reduce isolation and support the health and well-being of older adults in our state,” said Robert Cornwell, Executive Director, Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association.
Eligible Ohioans can sign up at aging.ohio.gov or by calling 1-800-266-4346.
Staying Connected is not an emergency response service, and participants should always use 911 or their emergency response system if they are injured or in need of emergency assistance.
CURRENT OHIO DATA:
There are 25,250 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 1,436 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 4,539 people have been hospitalized, including 1,232 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language closed captioning, 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.
Shoppers slowly trickle back to Ohio’s malls, retail shops
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Opening day for retail stores in Ohio was anything but normal.
Shopkeepers and joggers outnumbered customers in the normally bustling Short North neighborhood of Columbus. Masked shoppers bunched up in lines to buy new Air Jordan basketball shoes inside a Toledo mall lined with darkened storefronts.
With Tuesday’s reopening of retail businesses after a nearly two-month-long shutdown designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mike DeWine expects 90% of the state’s economy will be restarted by week’s end when barbershops, hair salons and outdoor restaurant dining also comes back.
But if the first day of retail shopping is any indication, the revival of Ohio’s economy will come at a slow pace.
Even among those who were the first customers back at Toledo’s Franklin Park Mall, many said they were there for something specific.
“I’m a little antsy. I don’t want to mingle,” said Amber Fryman, who was getting clothes so she could return to her job making Jeeps. “I’m just going from point A to point B.”
Once inside, though, she found the store that had her online order still was closed.
Martie Reed came away disappointed too. Not only was Bath and Body Works closed, she also saw too many people not social distancing.
“There’s no reason for me to be in the mall looking around,” she said.
Roughly two out of three stores at the mall were closed behind metal gates. Just a handful of stands at the food court were open and all the tables were taped off.
While most store and business employees now are mandated to wear masks by the state, it’s up to individual businesses to decide whether customers should too.
The beginning of Ohio’s week-long reopening of businesses came on a day when the nation’s top infectious disease expert warned of “really serious” consequences if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly.
Still, Ohio is among more than two dozen states that are moving ahead with lifting their lockdowns.
State officials said Tuesday that massage services, tattoo parlors and stores offering body piercings also can reopen Friday.
Full restaurant dining will return in just over a week. Gatherings in large spaces inside bars and restaurants, such as for dancing, are still prohibited. And day cares and gyms are among businesses still awaiting word on when they can open their doors.
In the popular arts and entertainment Short North district near downtown Columbus, most passers-by on Tuesday weren’t shopping but walking dogs or jogging.
At Fera, a designer clothing store specializing in denim, owner Jason Dowell was still looking for his first customer just before lunch. His new store was open for a single day in mid-March before he made the decision to shut down.
“I was a little nervous, not nervous as being a new store, but nervous for what’s to come, kind of the unknown,” he said. “Definitely the unknown.”
At Happy Go Lucky, a women’s apparel and home goods store, signs directed customers to use complementary hand sanitizer as soon as they enter. Masks were required and available for a donation.
“It’s hard to say when we’re going to see regular people just like walking in off the street,” said store manager Molly Babich.
___
CASES
The number of confirmed and probable deaths associated with the coronavirus in Ohio has reached 1,436, an increase of 79 a day earlier, state health officials said Tuesday.
At least 1,303 deaths were confirmed by the Ohio Department of Health and another 133 were considered probable under guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of confirmed and probable cases topped 25,000 and hospitalizations topped 4,500, the department said.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
___
Seewer reported from Toledo.