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(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today
announced that the Ohio Department of Health will extend its order
to keep schools closed through the end of April.
Ohio's previous order was set to expire on April 3, 2020. The new
order will extend the closure through May 1, 2020.
"There is the real possibility that our schools could stay closed
longer than this, but we want to give parents and teachers as much
notice and flexibility as we can," said Governor DeWine. "Schools
should continue to do what they're doing now -- providing the best
remote learning that they can, serving meals to students in new
ways, and planning for what the rest of the year may look like."
HOMELESSNESS TEAM:
Governor DeWine announced today that he has formed a "Homelessness
Team" to help people who may rely on homeless shelters, domestic
shelters, group homes, and recovery housing - all of which pose
challenges for social distancing.
The Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio, the Ohio Chapter
of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Ohio Recovery
Housing are working as part of this team to provide localized
guidelines for these shelters. They will also work to incorporate
these populations into the state's ongoing planning for access to
healthcare through community health centers and planning for
quarantine or isolation. In addition, the Ohio Housing Financing
Agency Board has approved $5 million in unrestricted Agency General
Fund Reserves to be used for Homelessness Prevention and Rapid
Rehousing funds and Emergency Rental Assistance that will be
distributed through the state’s nine Continua of Care.
The Ohio Development Services Agency has also established a $1
million Emergency Shelter Gap Funding Program to support emergency
shelter providers during the COVID-19 state of emergency. The
Development Services Agency will reallocate Community Development
Block Grant dollars to emergency shelter providers to meet immediate
needs for homeless individuals and households.
Further, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
is directing some federal opioid response funding to help people
living in recovery housing or engaged in treatment to maintain their
current housing and prevent homelessness. Federal funds will be
deployed to cover additional expenses that adult care facilities are
taking on because of COVID-19.
The CDC guidelines and information about all of these funding
opportunities are available on coronavirus.ohio.gov, and anyone with
questions can email COVID19Housing@mha.ohio.gov
BUSINESS ADVISORY GROUP:
Governor DeWine also announced today that he will develop a business
advisory group to convene over the phone to:
1.Ensure businesses are doing everything they can to keep their
employees safe;
2.Provide recommendations (to the greatest extent possible) to
mitigate the negative impact the COVID-19 crisis is having on our
economy in Ohio;
3.Provide recommendations on building a platform for economic
recovery.
More details on this group will be released in the near future.
PRISONS AND PPE:
Due to the shortage of PPE in Ohio, the inmates incarcerated at Ohio
Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prisons have begun
making some of these necessary healthcare supplies.
So far, inmates have made 500 hospital gowns and will make 44,000
more when they get additional fabric. Inmates will also begin making
cough masks – similar to surgical masks -- and will be able to make
5,000 a day up to a total of 2 million. They will also make hand
sanitizer. and face shields. Each prison with its own workshop will
also make masks for the people in those prisons.
CURRENT OHIO DATA:
There are 1,933 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 39 deaths. A
total of 475 people have been hospitalized, including 163 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.
NATIONAL DOCTORS' DAY:
Enjoy this tribute to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy
Acton, MD, MPH, in honor of National Doctors' Day.
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