COVID-19 Now vs. at the Time of Ohio’s Shutdown
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Ohio on March 9, 2020, when the state’s first cases were reported. The first death from Covid-19 in Ohio was reported on March 19. Acting on advice from Ohio’s Department of Health director Amy Acton, Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency on March 9. That same day he asked colleges and universities to go to online classes. At this point, Ohio had only 3 confirmed cases and no deaths yet.
On March 12, DeWine announced that all schools from K-12 would close for a 3-week break, starting March 16; he was the first governor to announce statewide school closings. Also on March 12, Ohio Department of Health director Amy Acton instituted a ban on gatherings of more than 100, with exemptions for airports, workplaces, restaurants, religious gatherings, weddings and funerals.
On March 22, Acton issued a statewide stay-at-home order to take effect from midnight on March 23 through April 6, requiring the closure of nonessential businesses.
On November 13, 2020, Ohio reported a record high 8,071 new coronavirus cases. In 24 hours, nearly 300 additional people have been admitted to area hospitals for treatment of the virus, and an additional 42 people have died.
Ohio has now seen 282,528 total cases of COVID-19, coupled with 5,700 deaths. Governor DeWine reiterated that he does not want to shut down Ohio amid a third coronavirus wave but will have to if residents do not obey mask orders and continue to congregate in large groups.