Ohio Extends Stay-At-Home Order Through May 1: Coronavirus Update

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio is extending its stay-at-home order through May 1, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. A surge in new coronavirus, COVID-19, cases is coming, DeWine said. He expects the surge to hit the state between April 15 and May 15.

"We are going to continue to see the numbers go up no matter what we do, but we can do all we can to keep the numbers down," DeWine said.

The governor said the state is trying to avoid a worst-case scenario, with overwhelmed hospital systems. DeWine specifically referenced the way the crisis has impacted New York City and Italy. He said Ohio officials are trying to avoid those circumstances, but

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New Orders

The stay-at-home order will include some changes from the previous order.

"Enforcement is a fundamental fairness issue. For the few who aren't following the order, we owe it to those who are following the rules to enforce the orders," Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced.

Ohioans who travel out of state must self-quarantine for 14 days.

Wedding ceremonies will not be addressed by the order, but wedding receptions cannot have more than 10 guests at a time.

Community pools, day camps and summer camps will all be closed to start the spring season. Fishing will be allowed, as long as fishers are separated by at least 6 feet. Spring sports are prohibited until the COVID-19 crisis has subsided.

"We are clarifying the stay at home order to close campgrounds with the exception where a camper or recreational vehicle in a campground serves as somebody’s permanent residence and they are unable to secure safe alternative housing," DeWine said.

State parks are not being closed at this time, DeWine said. However, if a state park fills with too many people, or the trails encourage people to congregate in close proximity, officials can shutter parks.

Businesses will have to set a limit on how many patrons can be inside their store at any given time. Each company will be able to set its own customer limit. Social distancing limits will also be implemented in queues, with tape being used to mark off how far customers must stay apart.

"We will appoint a board to evaluate and render guidance in situations where two local health departments have come to a different conclusion on what is or is not essential business," DeWine said.

Thursday's Coronavirus Numbers

Ohio now has more than 2,900 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, statewide. More than 80 people have been killed by the virus, the Ohio Department of Health announced.

Eight hundred people have been hospitalized because of COVID-19 and 260 Ohioans are in intensive care because of the virus.

DeWine thanked Ohioans for their continued efforts to practice social distancing. "You're saving lives," he said.

Cuyahoga County has the most COVID-19 cases in Ohio, with 663 confirmed infections. Twelve Cuyahoga County residents have died due to complications from the virus.

On Wednesday, Dr. Amy Acton signed an order changing testing protocol for COVID-19. Hospitals sending coronavirus test to third parties will now have to submit the samples to another hospital capable of testing to increase the turnaround time for getting results.

Economic Changes

Ohio added more than 468,000 people to unemployment rolls in Ohio. In all of 2019, there were only 364,603 unemployment claims in the Buckeye State. Over the past two weeks, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has issued unemployment compensation payments totaling more than $45 million to more than 108,000 claimants.

The state's unemployment center is trying to add 1,000 employees to the call system. Officials are also trying to expand the unemployment website's capacity.

Anyone who was laid off because of COVID-19 can add the following "mass layoff" number to their application: 200180.

Ohio officials have created the Economic Advisory Board to help the state navigated through the crisis created by the spread of COVID-19. There were nearly 270,000 new claims for unemployment in Ohio last week, according to Department of Labor statistics.

"We know this is a tough time," DeWine announced. "We will come through this."

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