Recap of the March 24, 2020 press conference held by Governor Mike DeWine and Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton:

• Social media campaign: #InThisTogetherOhio

• Working on hospital capacity across the state daily: beds, PPE

  • EOC: Emergency Operations Center- Dr. Acton’s health team has been merged into this team- working with hospitals daily on logistics

  • Modeling teams have been formed around the state and are sharing notes to model logistics needs and planning as we prepare for what’s coming; private sector also involved in modeling and preparation/getting ready for this

  • PPE: gloves, masks, face shields, goggles, gowns: Over the course of 24 hours, 36 pairs of gloves are used on average to care for 1 patient in intensive care- this is why elective surgeries, dentists, and veterinarians have been asked to conserve; private business have been asked to donate equipment, conserve equipment, procure equipment, and/or manufacture equipment.

• Economic impact: DeWine states that he shares Trump’s frustration with the economic impact of these measures and also wants to get through this as quickly as possible and get people back to work. However, he states that protecting people and protecting the economy are not mutually exclusive- one depends upon the other. 

“The fact is that we save our economy by first saving lives, and we have to do it in that order. If our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of our fellow Ohioans don’t get the care they need; if thousands of our medical professionals don’t get the care they need… and die… it would be truly destructive to our economy. When people are dying, when people don’t feel safe, this economy is not going to come back. We’ve gotta protect as many lives as we can.”

“Each protective step we take to protect Ohioans from COVID19 is a protective step to prevent our economy from crashing. We cannot leave this unchecked or the entire economy will melt down. The science clearly indicates that we are on the right path- these are the measures that will get us back to work and protect our economy. An overwhelmed hospital system which will leave Ohioans dying needlessly will have long term ramifications in regard to our ability to recover and move forward. Leaving our healthcare system in shambles is not a way to regrow our economy. We have to do what we can do now so we can get people back to work sooner and move forward to address the economy.”

(Quotes may be paraphrased in part or transcribed with minor inaccuracies in specific verbiage but meaning and tone are unaffected.)

• 564 confirmed, 8 deaths, 49 counties; age range under 1 year through 95; 145 hospitalizations; 62 in ICU- 25 from long term care facilities

  • 16.1% of cases are healthcare workers 

  • 25.7% hospitalization rate

  • 11% ICU rate

• Ohio is following the same trend as Italy; we’re on a 7-14 day lag behind New York City

• Hospital capability: we will have to build additional beds

  • Bed availability: currently at 60% capacity in hospitals;

  • ICU beds total for the state- 3,600 beds.

  • We need hospitals to increase ICU capacity buy 50%

  • Working on that: hotels and dorm rooms may be turned into hospital units; more to come in coming days about this.

• All PPE received has been deployed to hospitals based on need. Boxes and cases of PPE, not truckloads. Researchers are looking for ways to reuse PPE safely.

• Modeling indicates that had we done nothing in Ohio, or we’re not all abiding by all the measures we’re taking or being directed to take, Ohio would see an estimated 6,000 new cases per day.

• Husted on Essential Businesses: everyone should read the order (coronavirus.ohio.gov) and the plain language of the order to determine the definition of an essential business; read the attached guidance from Homeland Security as well. Businesses are expected to use their good judgment in determining how to comply with that order. Read the plain language; if you don’t qualify, consider yourself closed; if you do qualify, be prepared to explain your rationale for why you’re an essential business to employees, health department officials, law enforcement officials, etc. You will eventually be called out if you don’t qualify; don’t force it to come to that.

  • Even if you are an essential business, there are safety and health standards you must comply with to remain open. Husted states firmly that what’s really going to risk your  business and be counterproductive to getting the economy back on track as quickly as possible is not complying with the order and having someone gets sick and decimate your entire workforce. We want you to be part of the solution, not part of the problem

  • You have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace environment for employees; you are in violation of the stay at home order if you’re not doing that. The local health department will come out and investigate if employees report violations, and they will hold you accountable.

  • Nonessential businesses that are currently closed should start looking at the required safety measures in the order and begin to create a plan for how they’re going to comply when they reopen. Every employer still going to have to follow these safety standards even when we go back to work and until we have a vaccine/treatment options available.

  • If a customer or employee believes that a business is in violation of the stay at home order rules- either remaining open but not essential or not ensuring the required safety precautions to provide a safe work environment, they may report that to their local health department or law enforcement. Don’t call for questions regarding interpretation of the rules- read those yourself; but if there’s a violation of the rules, contact either one to report enforcement needs. Reports of violations will be investigated, and if business owners refuse to address violations, legal consequences may follow.  

• Business owners encouraged to contact their commercial lenders if they need assistance due to coronavirus; states commercial lenders want to help.

• Unemployment numbers will be shared weekly every Thursday; the Dept. of Labor ordered states to stop releasing unemployment numbers daily. Husted states Ohio will be as transparent as possible, as promised, while also attempting to cooperate with the federal government’s direction. Unemployment.ohio.gov website is up and running.

• Dr. Acton: more symptoms are being uncovered in global data like GI upset and unusual fatigue. If you don’t feel well at all, for any reason, stay home.

• Current modeling projects Ohio’s peak will occur around May 1, this is subject to change as data changes

• Small business assistance and unemployment: Husted understands that some businesses may be 1099s; he’s been on the phone with the federal government asking for them to give both the authority and resources so that unemployment benefits may be used for 1099s. As it stands, if you didn’t pay into unemployment, you can’t receive unemployment benefits; the federal government would have to infuse money into that system to make that possible; Husted believes this is being considered as part of the federal relief package in front of Congress now.