April 27, 2020: DeWine Press Conference: First Phase to Reopen Ohio Announced; Employees and Customers to Wear Face Masks
Recap of the press conference given April 27 by Governor Mike DeWine, Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton, and Lt. Governor Jon Husted:
DeWine asks everyone to keep in mind:
You’ve done an amazing job staying at home.
Coronavirus is still here. It’s just as dangerous as it’s ever been. It’s still living amongst us.
The tools that we’ve used to slow it down are still the same: distance, distance, distance; washing hands; sanitation of surfaces; masks. We’re going to have to continue to use these things.
COVID statistics:
16,325 cases
753 deaths
3,232 hospitalizations
978 ICU admissions
5 day trends show cases and hospitalizations going down but deaths and ICU admissions going up
We still need to:
Ramp up testing dramatically: we think we can come up with enough testing capacity in May
Contact tracing: from May to June, tiered approach to implement tracing workforce; estimated 1,750 workers needed
Still need to practice social distancing
Beginning of Reopening Plan Beginning May 1:
Most important question is how we open - if we do it right, we can provide as much protection as we can to our workers.
May 1: health care opening.
All health procedures that can be done that don’t require an overnight stay in a hospital may resume.
We still don’t have enough PPE. We’ve secured more of this, but it’s not exactly where we want it; we remain concerned about this.
Emergency surgeries with overnight stays were allowed under the old order and still allowed.
Question about dentists: were required to donate PPE and high-risk of exposure by nature of work; DeWine says that the state can help them secure PPE and states that just because they’re allowed to open doesn’t mean they have to- they can choose to remain closed.
May 4: manufacturing, distribution, and construction opening.
We’ve learned from businesses that have stayed open. We are requiring businesses maintain social distancing, health checks of employees, sanitization, handwashing, sending employees home if sick, face coverings, etc.
May 4: general offices reopening
People who can work from home should continue to do so where possible.
May 12: consumer retail and services
Specific hours for at-risk populations
All employees and customers must wear facial coverings.
Not required but encouraged when leaving the home, but will have to wear face covering when entering a business. Face coverings are in addition to social distancing.
Stay at home orders will still be in place.
People who work at these companies will be able to go to work.
People can go to retail.
Gatherings of 10 people or more still prohibited under the order.
We need to see how this works and monitor the numbers; we need to see how tracing and testing are going- a lot of moving parts; this is the beginning. Need to get people back to work while avoiding a spike or surge in cases.
Most vulnerable populations are encouraged to remain as careful as possible: 65 and older, chronic lung, heart, kidney, liver problems, etc.
Protocols for all businesses:
Require face coverings for employees and clients/customers at all times.
Conduct daily health assessments by employers and employees to determine if “fit for duty.”
Maintain good hygiene at all times- hand washing and social distancing.
Clean and sanitize workplaces throughout the work day and at. The close of business or between shifts.
Limit capacity to meet social distancing guidelines.
Capacity: no more than 50% of fire code.
And use appointment setting where possible to limit congestion.
When infection is identified:
Immediately report employee or customer to local health department
Work with local health dept to identify possible exposure for contact tracing
Shut down business for deep sanitization if possible
Husted: Coronavirus is not going away; it will continue to be a threat in our lives. Every decision has risks- health, societal, economic, and personal risks; it’s a balance.
Acton: we have to continue to be our best selves; it’s essential to find a balance between individual health and work. We will have occasional setbacks, learn from them, and have successes.
Additional Comments/Responses to Reporters’ Questions:
DeWine: We know that daycare remains a big challenge for people. Wanted to start down the pathway of opening areas where there’s more ability to control the environment and carry less risk.
No indication when hair salons, gyms, restaurants may reopen. Notes that these locations are less controllable environments and require close contact.
The last things to open will be mass gatherings like concerts and ball games.
DeWine: More people testing positive that don’t show symptoms- that makes COVID more dangerous as people can infect others without knowing they’re a host. The reopening plan is based upon all the info we have about how dangerous this is, but it’s also dangerous to not having people working- social consequences, health consequences. As long as we don’t see numbers that are alarming, we will continue down the reopen path.
Acton: at each step, we’re going to learn more and more about this virus. We don’t have widespread testing to know the prevalence of the virus in Ohio or elsewhere, so we don’t have a true picture of the fatality rate. As we test more people, percentages will fluctuate; fatality rates are lagging. We will learn more about deaths that weren’t originally attributed to the virus (like we see now in California). For now, we know it’s very infectious and very contagious. We also do not have accurate morbidity numbers, i.e. the long term effects on people who get sick but don’t die are yet to be learned
Question to DeWine: How confident are you that this plan will not backfire? Does this conflict w/ Acton’s previous medical advice that we must see 14 days of steady declines before we start to talk about reopening?
DeWine is listening to business owners, legislature, and other experts in making these decisions; he takes full responsibility for the decision; any decision carries some risk. If the economy continues decline, also need to factor in social and health risks of that.
Acton: what we have to remember is that the entire country is trying to figure this out. We have no roadmap. We’ve looked at every piece of advice and evidence from multiple sectors, and there isn’t one exact right way forward. The Governor is weighing all of these things. The truth is, we need to layer this [reopening] and go slowly in a measured way; we’ll have to learn and make adjustments as things move forward. We still want to selectively go out to run errands and stay at home as much as possible.
Question: If you’re a worker with an underlying condition and worried about choosing between life and livelihood:
DeWine: We would hope the employer would try to make arrangements for that employee for a period of time if higher risk than other employees.
Husted: White House guidelines talk about accommodating vulnerable people as phase 3: we’re encouraging businesses to make sure the environment is comfortable for employees. Just because we announced that you can reopen isn’t going to just flip a switch and everyone will be back to work. Customers must feel safe to shop and sales will lag as consumers become more comfortable. Businesses are encouraged to phase vulnerable individuals in last after we know that this is working. Businesses are asked to keep vulnerable employees in mind while making rehiring decisions. People still aren’t seeing unemployment benefits. 446,000 Ohioans served through system so far. People going back to work will still be compensated for the time during which they were eligible for benefits. Wait time on phone down to 14 minutes.
DeWine: I can’t guarantee anybody’s safety, but we can do the things that will dramatically increase the odds of keeping people safe.
Husted: Business owners wanted the mask requirements to make employees and customers feel safe. Businesses will ultimately be responsible for their own enforcement for customers coming into stores that refuse to wear masks. Masks protect other people, not yourself. Business owners don’t want to have flare-ups of infections in their own businesses.
Enforcement: By and large, businesses were compliant with the first order. Enforcement will continue through local health departments and police, but what we’ve found is that enforcement has come from employees and the public addressing issues they see within the business- there’s community pressure to make sure businesses provide a safe place.
Question: How is stay at home order still in place if people are allowed to go to retail stores once open.
DeWine: We’re asking people to be reasonable and rational; don’t take huge chances; use common sense in how you visit retail; try to keep distance. In reality, it’s a common sense approach to dealing with a situation that is still a dangerous situation. Everyone is still susceptible to COVID. It’s all going to come down to what Ohioans do. We’re taking a step forward, but the stay at home order still indicates that things are still dangerous. COVID 19 is just as dangerous as it’s always been. How we move forward will depend completely on the actions of Ohio citizens.
Husted: If your employer sends you home and you don’t have sick leave benefits (which most employers can and should provide in those cases- they shouldn’t want you at work and they’re required under the order to get you out of there)- if that’s going to be a sustained period, you can apply for unemployment benefits for while you’re ill.
DeWine: If Ohioans go back to business as usual, the curve is going to go straight back up; trying to balance the harm to the economy while also understanding that people have to feel safe for businesses to really come back.