COVID-19 Alert - June 9, 2020
By the Numbers:
487,583 individuals tested
39,162 total cases, 5,814 of which are health care workers
2,421 deaths
6,620 hospitalizations, 1,708 of which are in the intensive care unit
88 counties with at least one case
Ages range from less than one year old to 109 years of age, with a median age of 49
State of Ohio COVID-19 dashboard: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/dashboard
Community and Police Relations – Past Efforts:
In 2015, then-Governor John Kasich formed Ohio’s Collaborative Community and Police Advisory Board to create uniform minimum standards for Ohio’s law enforcement agencies. The Tier 1 standards cover use of force (which includes deadly force), as well as hiring and recruitment practices. The standards place preservation of life as the highest priority.
As of today, 79% of Ohio’s law enforcement officers work for an agency that has voluntarily complied with the standards or is in the process of obtaining certification. However, the number of certified agencies only make up slightly more than half of Ohio’s over 800 law enforcement departments. A report detailing which police agencies are certified in the minimum standards is available at www.publicsafety.ohio.gov.
Community and Police Relations – Current Efforts:
Governor DeWine encouraged the 400+ police departments around the state that are not already certified in minimum standards, to begin working on the process. The Governor directed the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services to reach out directly to every police agency in the state that is not meeting the minimum standards to assist them in any way possible.
Other standards outlined by the Advisory Board, included standards on community engagement, body cameras, bias-free policing, employee misconduct, and telecommunicators. Last year, Governor DeWine asked the Advisory Board to set new minimum standards on law enforcement pursuits.
Today, the Governor announced that he has asked the Advisory Board to develop yet another standard: law enforcement’s response to mass protests. The Advisory Board will examine issues such as:
At what point in a protest do measures like tear gas, pepper spray, and non-lethal projectiles become necessary;
Tactics and techniques that are best practices for dealing with a crowd that is failing to disperse;
How can law enforcement prevent members of the media from being injured; and,
When do tactics become excessive for a given situation.
Governor DeWine explained that law enforcement must act when protests morph from peaceful to violent and when they witnesses physical violence or property destruction. The goal is not to give a small number of violent protestors a free pass, but rather ensure that peaceful demonstrators feel safe while asserting their First Amendment rights. In addition, the public must be protected against violence and destruction of their property.
Moreover, Governor DeWine also announced the creation of a new Ohio Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment within the Office of Criminal Justice Services. This Office will promote the need for women and minority law enforcement officers and help local agencies with recruitment and retention.
30 Million Pieces of Personal Protective Equipment:
As of last week, the State of Ohio distributed over 30 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the pandemic, which came from a variety of sources including: donations, JobsOhio purchases, FEMA, purchases by state agencies, and federal CARES Act funds.
Of the 30 million pieces of PPE, 27.8 million pieces have been shipped to county Emergency Management Agencies for local distribution.
On May 19, Governor DeWine announced that the Bureau of Workers Compensation would begin distributing non-medical grade face coverings to public and private employers who participate in the state insurance fund. This program, called Protecting Ohio’s Workforce: We’ve Got You Covered, has sent out over 1.5 million face coverings. The face coverings are meant to support and enhance any work force safety and health efforts businesses already have in place.
The administration also provided PPE to the state’s institutional agencies to ensure that they have a 90-day supply. Additionally, PPE has been provided to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services through the Office of Pharmacy Services to support requests for PPE from state agencies, boards and commissions.
The Governor is working to examine long-term solutions for the supply chain. At this time, the state has examined longer-term contracts for ventilators and N95 masks and is evaluating the results of a recently-issued invitation to bid for gloves, gowns, and three-ply masks. These efforts, coupled with the partnership with the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance, is positioning Ohio to be better prepared in the future.
GOJO Expansion for More Hand Sanitizer:
Today, GoJo, an Akron-based manufacturer of hand sanitizer, announced that they are expanding in Navarre and Maple Heights to meet the demand for their products to fight COVID-19. The projects are expected to create 200 new jobs.
WHO Report on Transmission of COVID:
Dr. Susan Koletar, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Principle Investigator of the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, joined today’s press conference to discuss the recently released report from the World Health Organization regarding the transmission of COVID-19 by asymptomatic patients.
Dr. Koletar reminded Ohioans that it is important to keep in mind definitions. In this report, an asymptomatic patient is someone who has no symptoms and never goes on to develop symptoms of the disease. That is distinguishable from someone who is pre-symptomatic, which means a person who may have some symptoms but not enough to cause alarm, but later develops more of the classic symptoms associated with COVID-19.
Dr. Koletar cautioned that we are not sure how many truly asymptomatic people go on to transmit the illness, but that pre-symptomatic patients are susceptible to spreading the disease.
She also urged Ohioans to continue practicing social distancing and hand sanitizing, as well as wearing masks to contain the spread of the virus.