COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio day care centers and gyms, along with activities ranging from sports like tennis and softball to horse racing to swimming in public pools, will resume this month, the state’s top leaders said Thursday.
State campgrounds will open May 21 and motor vehicle bureaus on May 26, although Lt. Gov. Jon Husted urged residents to do as much vehicle renewal online as possible.
But water parks and swimming at amusement parks are still off limits, as is gambling at racinos and casinos, which remain closed, Husted said. Horse racing will begin May 22 without spectators.
Gov. Mike DeWine was under pressure to open day care centers as much of the economy has begun reopening, with Ohioans having returned to offices, factories, construction jobs and retail stores. Restaurants can begin patio dining Friday with inside dining to restart May 21.
The plan that opens day care centers May 31 limits preschool- and school-age children to nine in a classroom, and infants and toddlers to six per classroom. Temperatures will be taken daily, and employees must wear masks. Field trips are prohibited.
The reduced class size does not mean that some families won’t have spots for their children, the governor said.
“It’s certainly not our goal to have any family left out,” said DeWine, a Republican.
Ohio will use $60 million in federal pandemic relief aid to boost cleaning in day care centers and help reduce classroom size, DeWine said. Day camps will also open May 31, a boon to many families with school-age children trying to plan their summers.
It’s more important than ever for people to wash their hands regularly, wear masks and maintain distance from others, DeWine said.
Ohio day care centers employ about 60,000 child care providers and serve about 285,000 children, said the Ohio Association of Child Care Providers, which welcomed the news.
DeWine made the announcements on reopenings as confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases topped 26,000 and more than 1,500 deaths were recorded. The 21-day average of case increases ticked up to 555 on Thursday.
“Not exactly where we wanted to be, but we did not have that huge surge we were worried about either,” DeWine said.
In other coronavirus news Thursday:
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UNEMPLOYMENT
Nearly 1.2 million people filed unemployment claims in the past eight weeks as Ohio’s stay-at-home order depressed the economy and led to widespread layoffs, the state reported Thursday.
For the week ending May 9, just over 51,000 people filed jobless claims, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. That’s down from about 61,000 claims filed the previous week.
The numbers announced Thursday pushed total unemployment claims during the coronavirus pandemic to almost 1.17 million, above the total number of claims over the past three years. The state says it has now distributed more than $2.4 billion in unemployment checks to more than 587,000 claimants.
Nationally, nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. Roughly 36 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the eight weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began, forcing millions of employers to close their doors.
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CASES AND CARE
The number of confirmed and probable deaths associated with the coronavirus in Ohio has reached 1,534, an increase of 51 from a day earlier, state health officials said Thursday.
The number of confirmed and probable cases topped 26,000, and hospitalizations exceeded 4,700, the Ohio Department of Health said.
The Ohio Department of Health is working with hospitals on distribution of a new supply of remdesivir, a drug being used experimentally to treat COVID-19 patients.
The Health Department said a shipment from the federal government arrived Tuesday that included 20 cases of the drug, or enough to treat 100 patients.
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.
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EDUCATION
Should schools reopen in the fall, daily life would include at-home temperature checks, hand-sanitizing stations, and face masks for students and teachers, according to a draft Department of Education report, Cleveland.com reported.
Desks would also be at least 6 feet apart, frequently touched surfaces like door handles and handrails would be regularly sanitized, and visitors would be limited or even prohibited under the plan.
The report is a draft and could easily change, the Education Department said.
Ohio University announced plans to reopen for in-person fall classes, although the university left open the option of remote learning as “information about the virus continues to evolve.”
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NURSING HOMES
Data released Thursday shows 661 coronavirus-related deaths among residents in long-term care facilities since April 15, or close to half of all deaths in the state. The total number is likely much higher because the health department didn’t track nursing home deaths by facility before April 15 and thus has less complete data for the beginning weeks of the pandemic. Nursing homes accounted for more than 4,000 positive cases since April 15.
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PRISONS
The state says 56 prison inmates have died from COVID-19 as of Thursday and another two are suspected of dying from the coronavirus, including 32 prisoners at Pickaway Correctional Center in central Ohio. Deaths have also been recorded at six other prisons. More than 4,500 inmates have confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.