Governor Mike DeWine announced reopening dates for child care, campgrounds, BMV offices, and more. There are strict new rules for day care. We’ll break down the opening dates, the new rules, and Ohio’s current COVID-19 case count. Click the slides to get the important information from today’s briefing.
Re-Opening Dates
- May 21 – Campgrounds will open completely on May 21.
- May 26 – Pools both public and private clubs. Does not include water parks or amusement parks
- May 26 – Gyms and fitness centers
- May 26 – Non contact and limited contact sports – decisions are still being made on contact sports
- May 26 – BMV offices. Please use online services where available
- May 31 – Child Care . See new rules on the next slide.
- May 31 – Day Camps The new rules for Day camps will be released on Friday
New Child Care Rules
Ohio’s Day Care Centers are allowed to open on May 31. Governor Mike DeWine said:
“For the past few weeks we’ve been working with numerous experts. These confirmations have helped inform our plan rooting it in the best science and best practices we can find. We do not have any great data in regard to child care and COVID-19. There is not a whole lot of information out there. But we intend to rectify that.”
The Governor said, “Our goal is to do everything we can to protect the children, the workers, and all the families. Moving forward, childcare is going to look different for children, parents, and teachers. We have based the protocols on the best science we can find.”
New Child Care Rules
- Reduced number of children in classrooms
- Increased hand washing and cleaning
- Child Care providers will wear masks
- Parents may asked to wear masks
- Daily temperature taking will be mandatory
- Children will wash hands when they arrive and leave
- No field trips
- Must sanitize playgrounds between groups of children
- Toys and surfaces cleaned after each use
- Centers must be cleaned at end of day
Class Size
- Pre-school and school age – limit of 9 per classroom
- Infants and toddlers – limit of 6 per classroom
Ohio will conduct a research study on child care best practices and change the rules as more data comes in. DeWine said Ohio will utilize more than $60 million in CARES Act funding to help fund the changes to childcare.
COVID-19 Numbers
- Suspected Cases – 26,357
Confirmed Cases – 24,800 - Hospitalizations – 4,718
ICU Admissions – 1,268 - Suspected Deaths – 1,534
Confirmed Deaths 1,388 - Scioto County – 13