COLUMBUS — Ohio day-care providers and parents caught between staying home with their children and returning to work will have to wait a little longer for a reopening date.
“We've got to get it right...,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday, knowing that Ohioans were tuning into his daily coronavirus briefing for his promised announcement.
“We're going to have an answer....,” he said. “I owe (the people of the state) the best we can give them because that's what they should expect when they drop off their child. That is my commitment to them.”
He said Ohio will have “the most science-based, safety-based plan that we can put together.” He acknowledged that safe child care is a necessity for working families as K-12 schools remain shuttered and as Ohio begins to gradually awaken its economy from its nearly two-month coronavirus shutdown.
“There are risks associated with action and also risks associated with inaction as we move forward,” Mr. DeWine said. “There may not be a more important decision we make regarding the safety of Ohio as we move forward.”
While the effects of the disease have generally not been as severe for younger populations, the governor said any plan to reopen child day-care centers must protect not only the children but also workers and anyone who later comes into contact with those children and those workers.
The state has begun reopening manufacturing plants, retail stores, offices, and workplaces with employers generally expecting their workers to show up. Some parents have worried whether they would lose their unemployment compensation if they choose to stay home instead.
Currently, employers can report workers who refuse to return to work to the Department of Job and Family Services with the possibility of benefits being denied because workers don't feel safe or don't have other child-care options.
Kimberly Hall, the department's director, said that policy is being reevaluated.
“No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a person's decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy,” she said.
Since May 1, hospitals and other medical professionals have been able to resume elective and routine outpatient procedures, and manufacturers, distribution facilities, construction companies, and business offices have reopened.
Retail stores, consumer, and some service-sector businesses are set to open Tuesday, followed on Friday by barber shops, hair and nail salons, other personal care businesses.
Restaurants may also open on that day for outdoor dining. Restaurants and bars may resume indoor service on May 21 but have to follow social distancing and other safety precautions for employees and customers.
The governor reiterated that these reopenings will depend on how well employers following the safety protocols.
In addition to day cares, announcements are expected within days on the reopening of tattoo parlors and campgrounds.
On Monday, the state Department of Health reported a new total of 24,777 cases, an increase of 696 over the prior 24 hours. That number is above the 21-day average of 565 new cases daily.
There was better news when it came to numbers for fatalities, hospitalization, and intensive-care unit stays, all of which were lower than the 21-day averages. Sixteen additional deaths were reported for a total of 1,357.
Hospitalizations were up by 62 and ICU stays by 12.
One of the casualties of the coronavirus was Mr. DeWine's annual State of the State address before lawmakers. It has been postponed indefinitely.
But when asked Monday how he would now characterize the state's condition given the health threats, economic toll, and massive budget cuts, he said the state is in the midst of a storm.
“It's a very severe storm,” he said. “I think we're doing well under those conditions. This is not a storm that anyone thought was coming...It's tough...A lot of suffering. A lot of people unemployed. A lot of small businesses severely hurt.
“But Ohioans have done exceedingly well under the circumstances...,” Mr. DeWine said. “We're positioned about as well as we could be.”
He said Ohio will not likely be able to meet the White House's new recommendation that states test every resident and employee of nursing homes for infection in the next two weeks. Ohio just doesn't have the testing access necessary yet to complete that task, he said.
“I don't know that that is going to get done,” Mr. DeWine said.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Controlling Board on Monday voted to release $12.4 million in federal dollars for additional hires at 113 local health departments to bring the nationally recommended staffing level to 1,750 full-time employees for May and June.
It also released $52.5 million to help the Department of Job and Family Services resolve the state's overtasked system to process record volume of unemployment compensation claims. Many Ohioans have complained about difficulties in accessing the system online and through a beefed up call center.
Another $15.9 million will provide for the purchase of personal protective equipment for law enforcement, medical personal, and inmates in state prisons, local jails, and detention centers.
First Published May 11, 2020, 6:29 p.m.
