DeWine to Ohio: Mask up

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has moved to require face coverings for all Ohioans when in public in all 88 counties effective 6pm July 23rd.

The directive comes a day before the Ohio Public Health Advisory System is updated. The Governor said there are some counties in Level 1 (Yellow) and 2 (Orange) Public Emergency which will likely be graded Level 3 (Red) Public Emergency with the new map to be released Wednesday.

Most of Ohio’s metropolitan areas are already in Red status (very high exposure and spread, limit activities as much as possible).

In recent days over a ten county region Litter Media has been following since the state began reporting cases in March, shows an increase of 278 cases since Friday July 17th to Tuesday’s statewide report – 136 of those have been reported in Fairfield County. The counties being tracked include, Fairfield, Fayette, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton.

DeWine also addressed county fairs after a Wednesday conference call fair representatives across the state. “We came out with about three pages of what we thought were very simple orders and some protocol to be followed by the fairs” said DeWine. “What we’ve unfortunately started to see is some fairs that were not following that. Some were, some were not… We had one county fair, so far, we know of 19 cases that arose out of that county fair. We’ve also seen pictures of some fairs where people were not social distancing. We see grandstands full of people.”

DeWine added he wants to see the fairs continue, “but, they have to follow the rules. They also have to follow what their local health department says.” With DeWine’s new order Wednesday, those attending fairs after 6pm Thursday will have to wear masks.

The Governor also added a travel advisory for those wishing to visit Ohio from states reporting positive testing rates of 15% or higher. Those states include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.

The Ross County Health District released Tuesday recommendations to further limit COVID-19 spread: wash hands often, wear a mask plus stay six feet from others, and stay home if sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. It is also important to avoid crowded areas or places where social distancing and physical distancing is not possible, especially for those who are vulnerable or have underlying health issues.

The RCHD is working with several partners across Ross County including County Commissioners, Mayor Feeney and the City of Chillicothe, United Way of Ross County, Ross County Community Action, Adena Health System, Chillicothe-Ross County Foundation and Chillicothe and Ross County Public Libraries to ensuring access to masks. Free masks are available at several locations throughout the county with more sites being added in the coming weeks. Locations can be found: htp://rosscountyhealth.org/2020/07/free-masks/.

For more information about COVID-19 activity in Ross County, visit rosscountyhealth.org. To report a COVID-19 related complaint visit htp://rosscountyhealth.org/covid-19complaint/