Governor Mike DeWine has changed his mind about mandatory masks for retail customers in Ohio. Just 24 hours after announcing that customers would be required to wear masks in stores, DeWine said he’d had a change of heart. There was also new information on opening restaurants, salons, and day care. Plus an update on today’s election. We’ve got seven important points from today’s update.
Masks Won’t Be Mandatory For Customers
Governor DeWine has changed his mind on mandatory masks for retail customers.
“It is my duty to make hard decisions but it is also my duty to listen to others. My commitment to you is that I will continue to listen. Listen to your thoughts. Continue to listen to your ideas.”
He said that it had become clear to him that mandatory masks were offensive to many Ohioans. He said he’d received a call from the mother of an autistic son who explained why masks presented a problem for her son.
“We’re going to leave it up to the individual customer. Instead, it will be a strong recommendation. It’s really been your decisions that have truly made a big difference. My wife, Fran, tells me to trust Ohioans. You trusted them going in. It’s important to trust them as you are going out.”
Businesses can still require that customers wear masks to come into their business. Employers are responsible for providing face covering for their employees.
Child Care
The governor said he realizes that the ban on most day care facilities opening is a burden on families. But he said that the danger of children spreading the virus to each other and to at-risk relatives was still too great.
“I was talking an hour ago to the speaker and senate president about how we start back with child care. It’s important. We gotta get it right. But it’s a work in progress. We’re not quite ready to get this done.”
COVID-19 Count
- Suspected Cases – 16,769
- Confirmed Cases – 16,128
- Scioto County Cases – 6
- Hospitalizations – 3,340
- ICU – 1,004
- Suspected Deaths – 799
- Confirmed Deaths – 757
New Symptom List
Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton said that the CDC has added additional symptoms to the list of signs of COVID-19. The updated list includes:
- Cough
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
- Chills/shaking
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Loss of taste and smell
Election Update
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose gave an election update from the operations room at the Ohio Board of Elections.
He said that residents could be confident in the accuracy of today’s election results.
“When Ohioans hear these results, they’ll know they reflect the will of the people.”
LaRose said the Post Office has reported delivering large numbers of ballots. He also said that cars had lined up to drop off ballots outside Boards of Election across the state.
“This election looks different. Life looks different. Once thing that will never change is that every voice counts.”
He said he looked forward to getting ready for the November election.
Plans to Reopen Restaurants and Salons
DeWine said that he’s now turning his focus on how to best reopen restaurants and salons.
He’s together groups to look at how to reopen restaurants and another to look at how to best open barbershops and salon. He said he’d reached out to both Republicans and Democrats in the legislature as well as business associations to help him find business owners They will be meeting virtually. “We intend to pull these groups together this week. Look at best practices.”
Lt. Governor Jon Husted said, “We want to hear from everybody. When the health data says we’re at the next phase, we want to say that we’re ready to go. Know that your voices are being heard.”
Graduation Ceremonies Okay with Distancing
DeWine said that he’d be okay with schools holding in-person graduation ceremonies as long as they had a way to maintain social distancing.
“If a school can figure out how to do the distancing, they can do graduation or anything else. It’s going to be up to the school and driven by what facilities they have. Could there be a way a school could put together a graduation? It’s possible. If they can do that, as far as I’m concerned, that would be fine.”
