For the week ending March 15, 2020

• On Monday, Governor DeWine signed  Executive Order 2020-01D, declaring a state of emergency in Ohio to protect the well-being of Ohioans from the dangerous effects of COVID-19. The state of emergency allows state departments and agencies to better coordinate in their response. The Emergency Operations Center for the state was also activated.
• On Tuesday, Governor DeWine and Director Acton recommended that large, indoor gatherings in Ohio be canceled or postponed due to the potential for COVID-19 exposure.
• On Wednesday, the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Veteran Services issued an order limiting the number of visitors to one person per resident per day.
• On Thursday, Governor DeWine ordered that all kindergarten through 12th grade schools close for a period of several weeks.
• Also on Thursday, Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH signed an order to prohibit mass gatherings in the state of Ohio.
• On Friday, Governor DeWine announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved two waiver requests to continue school breakfast and lunch programs during Ohio’s K-12 school closures. Governor DeWine also signed an executive order easing the teacher/ student ratio currently required for day cares and preschools. Also, a letter was sent to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence requesting critical personal protection equipment including surgical procedural masks, N-95 respirators, gowns and gloves, etc., for Ohio’s healthcare workers. An additional order will be issued in the coming days for community jails and corrections facilities throughout Ohio to prohibit visitors and require health screenings for mission-critical vendors, contractors, etc.
• On Saturday, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Lori Criss prohibited visitors to the state psychiatric hospitals and video visitation will be available for patients. In partnership with the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Director Criss announced emergency orders that reduce restrictions on telehealth, ensuring that every Ohioan has access to behavioral health care via telehealth services by landline or cell phone.
• Also on Saturday, Governor DeWine asked all health care providers and others that use personal protective equipment (PPE) to conserve their supplies. He specifically requested that dentists and veterinarians postpone elective surgeries.
• On Sunday, the Ohio Department of Health issued an order that will close all Ohio bars and restaurants to in-house patrons.  Restaurants with take-out and delivery options will still be able to operate those services. Governor DeWine has also issued an executive order to grant the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services with the authority to accept and grant requests for unemployment compensation suspending the normal 1-week waiting period.
• Also on Sunday, the Ohio Department of Commerce has begun to offer a one-time liquor buyback option to support bars and restaurants.  the Ohio Development Services Agency has also prepared an application to quality Ohio for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.

As of Sunday afternoon, there were 37 confirmed cases.

For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.