I come to you today with an increased sense of urgency that we all must do what we can to implement the strategies being urged by Dr. Amy Acton, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Right now is the time to stay home when you are sick and try to keep separation among people. Per Dr. Acton, it is our civic duty to do our part and avoid congregating together so that we can our families, neighbors, and critically important, to protect our first responders and healthcare workers. It is clearer each day, that each day we delay taking action to implement social distancing we put our entire healthcare system at risk. It is evident we have broad community spread throughout Ohio. We do not need a confirmed case in Union County to understand this. It is no longer a time to focus on case counts.
Bars & Restaurants Closed - Governor DeWine announced today at 3:30pm that all bars and restaurants are closed for onsite dine-in/consumption beginning at 9pm tonight (Mar. 15) for an indefinite period of time. Restaurants are encouraged to continue offering carryout and delivery service.
Changes to Unemployment - Ohio is changing unemployment rules effective as soon as possible. These changes will allow workers without paid leave benefits to be eligible for unemployment benefits. People under quarantine orders will also be considered unemployed and can receive unemployment benefits. There are several changes to the unemployment rules, including waiving the one-week wait period. There are many more details from the Lt. Governor in today's (3/15) press conference you can find on the Ohio Channel.
Schools - Per the Governor, schools and parents should be prepared for closures to extend as long as necessary. Likely this will be beyond 3 weeks. Academic testing requirements will not be a limiting factor per Governor DeWine. In Union County, meal (food) plans for students have been put in place in each of our three school districts.
Businesses - Insist your employees stay home when ill. Drill down again on who is essential to be onsite in order to complete the work of your business. Allow telework in every instance you can and make sure sick policies allow sick workers to stay home.
Daycares - Daycares remain open now, but Governor DeWine urge people to take their child out of daycare if they can and make alternative plans if the daycare closes. Be cautious in turning to care from an older adult family member or family member with underlying medical conditions as they are more at risk for serious illness if they contract COVID-19. While children and healthy people may suffer mild illness or no symptoms, it is important to understand that they can still be carriers to others even before symptoms begin.
Nursing Homes - No visitors except medical personnel and those involved in end of life care are allowed per Ohio Public Health Orders. This includes allowance for families whose loved one is in end of life care.
Healthcare & EMS System - Per Dr. Acton, the closures and actions being taken are being done to protect our healthcare system. To delay spread of COVID-19 and to try and prevent a crushing influx in demand on our system. Plus the physical distancing we are doing now is also trying to keep our healthcare workers and EMS from becoming exposed or ill while providing medical care. Dr. Action says the modeling shows increased hospitalizations are likely and we need to try and lengthen the wave of these hospitalizations.
The Interventions We are Taking are Critical - The Director of Health has estimated anywhere from 40% to 70% of Ohioans could eventually contract COVID-19 if we do nothing. Though the majority will recover, many will be critically ill or die. The physical distancing of all people, isolating when sick, quarantining when exposed, and closings of public gatherings and many public venues are all crucial steps in trying to reduce this number. The timing with which each of these steps is based on science and research based modeling that incorporates lessons learned from epidemics and pandemics dating back to 1918. The Governor and Director have called on us all as Ohioans to do our part...this cannot be purely a governmental and public health response. This requires immediate action by each of us.
Testing Capacity - Testing continues to only be performed at the direction of a doctor. Locally, testing continues to be prioritized to those with severe illness or healthcare workers who have been exposed to a confirmed case. The Union County Health Department is still working with the Ohio Department of Health to identify when and where we expect to see increased ability for testing.
What To Do if I Have Symptoms - If you develop any symptoms of illness - even mild symptoms, you should stay home (best to quarantine yourself to one room). Stay home until your symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours. If you have mild illness, care for yourself at home like you would if you had a bad cold or a case of the flu. If your symptoms worsen, call your doctor or seek medical care. Call ahead before you go in and let them know your symptoms.
The goal right now is to keep people apart - Per Governor DeWine, if we don't take these actions now, Ohioans will die. And not just people sick with COVID-19, but people who suffer injuries and other illnesses and need medical care that won't be available due to the surge of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. If all Ohioans do our part to physically distance ourselves from one another right now-- and stay home when we are sick-- we can work to stop this trend. The data suggests the number of people infected doubles every 5-7 days and this virus is twice as deadly as the flu.
Union County Case Count - As of 4pm today, we have not been notified of any confirmed cases in Union County despite numerous rumors. I intentionally list this information last, as it is less and less relevant as to whether we have a confirmed case. Because of the increasing number of cases involving no known exposure (community spread), we are operating on the assumption COVID-19 is circulating in our community.