Coronavirus Updates July 24

After hinting at it for weeks, on Wednesday, Governor DeWine announced a statewide mask requirement for all of Ohio’s counties.  Masks will be required for people in indoor public places, in outdoor places where social distancing can’t occur, and when using public transportation. Exemptions are made for people under the age of 10, medical conditions, exercising,…

Read More

Coronavirus Updates July 17

Governor DeWine held COVID-19 press briefings on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Coronavirus cases continue to trend upward, and Governor DeWine’s Ohio Public Health Advisory System, the county by county approach to make decisions on COVID-19 restrictions, is in effect and updated each Thursday. The Wednesday address was the Governor’s first evening briefing on COVID-19. …

Read More

Components of Ohio’s Public Health Advisory System

On July 8, Ohio Department of Health Interim Director Lance D. Himes ordered the implementation of the Public Health Advisory System (PHAS) to supplement statewide orders, inform Ohioans about their risk of contracting the virus, and to combat COVID -19. The PHAS is a color-coded system that is used to assess the degree of COVID-19…

Read More

Coronavirus Updates July 10

  Governor DeWine held COVID-19 press briefings on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  Coronavirus cases continue to trend upward, and Governor DeWine’s Ohio Public Health Advisory System, the county by county approach to make decisions on COVID-19 restrictions, is in effect.  This week the Governor established a mask mandate for counties falling under Red Level…

Read More

Guidance and Plans for Reopening K-12 Schools in the Fall

After schools were closed on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was unclear how school districts would reopen for Ohio’s 1.7 million students in the fall. In a press conference on July 2, Governor DeWine announced a new set of guidelines from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Department of Education (ODE)…

Read More

Coronavirus Updates July 3

Governor DeWine held COVID-19 press briefings on Monday and Thursday this week.  In recent weeks, coronavirus cases began to trend upward above the daily averages, and this week was no exception.  Governor DeWine extended health orders that were set to expire this week, laid out a plan for a county by county approach to make…

Read More

Coronavirus Updates June 26

Governor DeWine held COVID-19 press briefings on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  This week, coronavirus cases began to trend upward above the daily averages.  We expect Governor DeWine to lay out his plan to reopen Ohio’s K-12 schools next week. Below is a list of actions taken in Ohio as of June 26, 2020, with…

Read More

Police Reform Initiatives in Ohio

Police reform is gaining sustained, national attention amid continuing protests across the country. In Ohio, a police reform bill, House Bill 703, has been drafted in the House and Ohio House Democrats have put forward a variety of bill ideas to address police and civil justice reform. Governor DeWine and Attorney General Yost unveiled several…

Read More

Coronavirus Updates June 19

Governor DeWine held COVID-19 press briefings on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  This week, much focus has been directed to R0 (R Naught) numbers or basic reproduction numbers of the virus.  While many areas of Ohio are seeing a plateau in coronavirus cases, some have started to see a slight uptick and pop up testing…

Read More

Resolutions in Ohio to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis

Major health disparities exist between white Americans and black Americans. For example, black women are four times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than white women and the average life expectancy of black Americans is four years lower than the rest of the population. In Ohio, black Ohioans are more likely to die of…

Read More