03/24/2020

2020-03-24 OH Gov. DeWine on COVID-19

Tuesday, March 24	564 Confirmed Cases	49 Number of Counties in Ohio	145 Number of Hospitalizations	8 Number of Deaths
Monday, March 23	442 Confirmed Cases	46 Number of Counties in Ohio	104 Number of Hospitalizations	6 Number of Deaths
Sunday, March 22	351 Confirmed Cases	40 Number of Counties in Ohio	83 Number of Hospitalizations	3 Number of Deaths

Last Updated: 03/24/20 (Updated daily at 2 p.m.) - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/ 

 

New orders/actions/measures

 

• No new orders were announced today.

 

To combat recent talk of health v. economy, the Governor stressed that saving lives is not mutually exclusive with saving the state’s economy.  Protecting the economy’s workforce is what ensures our economy will be able to recover. 

 

“When people are dying and people don't feel safe, the economy is not going to come back. We have to flatten the curve so that when the wave comes, it's not as big as it would have been and we are prepared for it.  If our hospitals are overwhelmed thousands of Ohioans will not get the care they need. If our nurses and doctors get sick, if they die because we do not have facilities to protect them, that is a personal tragedy for them and for all of us.  We are going to get our economy back, but we have to get through it, protect as many lives as we can, and then move forward. I'm looking forward to that day, but it's not yet here.”

 

The Governor said he is doing what he believes needs to be done, in consultation with experts, to protect lives in the State of Ohio – in response to media questions as to how this position squares with the President’s recent announcement that he wants the economy up and running again by Easter. 

 

Dr. Acton provided some initial data analysis on COVID-19 in Ohio:

 

• 16.1% of confirmed cases are healthcare workers
• 25.7% of confirmed cases require hospitalization
• 60% - current hospital occupancy (down from an estimate of 75% after cancelling elective procedures)
• 1300 of 3600 ICU beds available

 

Dr. Acton said the hospitalization rate is on track with what is being seen worldwide and supports the efforts Ohio is undertaking to expand bed capacity.  Dr. Acton and the Governor said they will have more information on that in the coming days.

 

The Lt. Governor offered additional guidance on what qualifies as an essential business.  He said:

• Read the plain language of the order - use your good judgment to interpret. 
• If you don’t qualify, consider yourself closed.
• Please don’t call law enforcement or health department to interpret the order – that is not their job to do that. 
• Businesses do not need a letter, certification or clearance to show they are essential under the order, but they should have a prepared rationale as to how the order applies in case asked. 
• If a business does qualify, they must be able to follow the safe workforce protocols in the order.  If a business cannot follow those protocols, they cannot remain open.
• If anyone sees a violation of the order, they can contact law enforcement or the local health department for enforcement. 
• Local health departments should not create new rules – they need to follow the order for consistent enforcement.  

 

The Lt. Governor updated an announcement from yesterday that the US Dept. of Labor wasn’t allowing the state to announce unemployment numbers.  As a clarification, the state will not be announcing daily numbers, but will provide weekly numbers on Thursdays.  The Lt. Governor expressed his frustration at this restriction but said the state is cooperating with the federal government on this issue. 

 

He also passed on word from the state’s banks reminding people that they are open for business, even if the lobbies are closed.  The Ohio Banker’s League has compiled a list of relief programs that the state’s larger banks have put in place, along with links to the smaller banks and their programs - https://www.ohiobankersleague.com/customers.

 

The General Assembly is expected to meet tomorrow to begin addressing emergency legislative needs - setting up a process to finish the primary election, waive state testing requirements for K-12 students, change when Ohio’s state taxes are due, stop water and electricity shutoffs, address emergency open meetings measures and make changes to unemployment rules, amongst others.  The Speaker of the House has announced protocols for how session will be conducted tomorrow – see attached – including closing the Chamber to the public and press.  Session will be live streamed by the Ohio Channel.  The Senate has not released any new protocols as of this email. 

 

Note: For an archive of all COVID-19 related First Alerts from Calfee, which are separate from these emails and focused on specific business topics, please visit the Calfee COVID-19 Resource Center: https://www.calfee.com/covid-19-resource-center

 

Other items of note

 

• The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases around the world hit 400,000 on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, suggesting that the global pace of infection was increasing.  A map that tracks confirmed cases of the virus, produced by the university’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, updated in the early afternoon on Tuesday to show 407,485 confirmed cases. The landmark number was reached after Italy announced an additional 5,249 cases at a daily briefing shortly before.
• The International Olympic Committee and Japanese officials sharply reversed course Tuesday and agreed that the Olympics and Paralympics will not take place this summer in Tokyo in the wake of the growing novel coronavirus pandemic. Organizers say they now hope to stage the Games by the summer of 2021.

 

Key websites – New resources in red

 

General state updates - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/

Closure order FAQ - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/Stay-at-Home-Information/Stay-At-Home-Order-Frequently-Asked-Questions

Unemployment compensation - http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm

Mental health resources - https://mha.ohio.gov/Health-Professionals/About-Mental-Health-and-Addiction-Treatment/Emergency-Preparedness/Coronavirus

Ohio benefits application - https://benefits.ohio.gov/

SharedWork Ohio - http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/SharedWorkOhio/

Support resources for adults - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/resources/resources-for-adults-coping-with-the-covid-19-pandemic

Find your local health district - https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/find-local-health-districts

Job openings - https://jobseeker.ohiomeansjobs.monster.com/home.aspx

COVID-19 checklists - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/COVID-19-Checklists/ 

Business resources - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/resources-for-economic-support

Banking pandemic resources and relief programs - https://www.ohiobankersleague.com/customers 

 

Click Here to Read the House Session Protocol

Click Here to Review the Session Groups

 

 

Maryellen K. Corbett​ Attorney at Law mcorbett@calfee.com 614.621.7754 Office 614.621.0010 Fax Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP 1200 Huntington Center ​41 South High Street Columbus ,  OH    43215‑3465   vCard Calfee.com | Info@Calfee.com | 888.CALFEE1 This electronic mail transmission may contain confidential and legally privileged information from the law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP intended only for the use of the individual(s) identified as addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this electronic mail transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify me by telephone immediately.