Governor pleads with Ohioans to help out.
Governor Mike DeWine Ohio citizens and businesses to do more in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He called on citizens, businesses, and manufacturers to do their part. At one point, the Governor and Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton held up a sign with a list personal protective equipment they were calling on Ohio manufacturers to produce. The daily press conference looked pretty rough, technically. A member of the video crew that helped produce the event was hospitalized with pneumonia, so it was produced with a skeleton crew for safety’s sake.
Here’s what what was covered:
Ohio COVID-19 Cases
- 1406 confirmed cases
- 25 confirmed deaths from COVID-19
- 355 hospitalizations
- 123 ICU admissiosn
- Age range is less than 1 to 96
Dr. Acton likened the Coronavirus pandemic to an approaching hurricane saying that at first we can only guess when and how hard it will hit. She said the big difference is, “What you do is really changing the strength of this hurricane.”
She said she understands that estimates of up to 10,000 new cases a day of COVID-19 are frightening. “But they would have been 50 to 75% higher. They would have been steeper if we had not acted. Your actions are shrinking those numbers. Keep it up.
DeWine Pleaded With FDA To Approve New Way To Sterilize Masks
The Governor issued an urgent plea to the FDA to rush the approval of a new technique for sterilizing surgical masks developed by Ohio company Battelle Labs.
Calling it “A real breakthrough,” the DeWine said a single machine will be able to sterilize 80,000 masks per day. Battelle has two machines ready to go in Ohio and additional machines ready to be sent to New York, Seattle, and Washington D.C. “I want to make a public appeal to the FDA,” he said. “Please, please give us the approval to use these.”
Governor Begs Labs To Speed Up COVID-19 Test Results
Mike DeWine also issued a plea to LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics testing facilities to speed up the delivery of COVID -19 test results.
“We urgently need the results. This is a matter of life and death. It’s my appeal to you as Governor of the State of Ohio. Please get us those results. We have to have them in real time.”
DeWine Pleads With Ohio Companies To Make PPE
The Governor and Dr. Acton also issued pleas to Ohio manufacturers to start producing critically needed personal protection equipment. The two held up a sign listing the 10 Most Wanted Items:
- Surgical gowns
- Face surgical masks
- N 95 particulate respirators
- Isolation gowns
- Face shields
- Tyvek coveralls
- Thermometers
- Toot coverings
- Ventilator tubing
DeWine also asked that any company that had these items on hand contact the state. “If you are a manufacturer and you can make any of this stuff , man we need to hear from you right away. If you have them, the state needs them.”
Businesses can contact the state by emailing [email protected].
Hospitals Must Work Together
Governor DeWine issued a plea for Ohio hospitals to work together during the crisis. Ohio is divided into eight regions to plan for Coronavirus hospital response. DeWine said all eight had submitted preliminary plans to his office for how they will expand the number of available hospital beds.
Those plans are being reviewed by the Governor, Dr. Acton, and the head of the Ohio National Guard. DeWine said he’d get back to the regions with recommendations tomorrow.
He emphasized the cooperation was key. “We cannot get through this by each hospital doing their own thing. We can only get through this by all the hospitals in the region coming together and speaking with one voice. We also ask each region of hospitals to remember community partners like nursing homes as places to house patients who are not infected with COVID-19.”
DeWine Pleads With Churches To Observe Physical Distancing
The Governor spoke specifically to Ohio churches and asked that they please skip in-person services and observe physical distancing. “Those of you still doing services, we’re gonna ask you not to do that. We’re not going to tell you but we are asking. It’s a real risk for members.”
He advised places of worship to take advantage of technology to hold virtual services. “Let’s not congregate together,” DeWine said, “It’s too dangerous.”
Police Will Check Ohio Businesses
Too many businesses are ignoring the Governor’s pleas to follow safe workplace rules to avoid spreading COVID-19. He made these three points clear today.
- DeWine said he’d ordered inspections of all companies with state contracts to make sure they were obeying the rules.
- The Governor said he’d also spoken to local chiefs of police and asked them to check in on businesses in their areas.
- Lt. Governor Jon Husted said that safe workplace rules to slow the spread of disease will probably stay in place long after the COVID-19 shutdown is over.
The Governor asked Ohioans to stay strong and keep observing social distancing. There will be no news conference on Sunday unless there is breaking news.
