04/07/2020

2020-04-07 OH Gov. DeWine on COVID-19

Last Updated: 04/07/20 (Updated daily at 2 p.m.) - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/ 

New orders/actions/measures

• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has received approval to extend the recertification eligibility period from March, April and May by another six months due to the coronavirus epidemic.  ODJFS stated it has also received approval for families on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to get the maximum benefit possible for March and April.
• The Liquor Control Commission has issued a temporary rule allowing restaurants to sell up to two sealed drinks per order.

The Governor announced additional efforts to control spread in state prisons.  Intake in prisons is down about 20%, which is reducing populations and helping with social distancing and managing the ability to isolate sick individuals.  After further review of the current population, in addition to the 38 inmates the Governor recommended for early release consideration last week, he announced approximately 160 additional inmates for consideration for early release.  After eliminating inmates convicted of serious offenses and inmates who are habitual offenders, have been denied release before or subject to an outstanding warrant, the recommended inmates are either (1) within 90 days of release; or (2) 60 years old or older with a chronic medical condition.  These recommendations will be sent to the local judges and officials for review.  The decision of whether to actually release the inmate will be done at the local level.  The presiding judge will send any cases that need to be to the Parole Board for consideration.  There will be additional guidance in the coming days on how inmates who are released will be placed.

The Lt. Governor announced the formation of the Office of Small Business Relief.  The office will be housed at the Developmental Services Agency and will help businesses navigate all of the relief programs, regulatory reforms and more that have been established as a result of the pandemic.  See https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/ 

On the unemployment system, Lt. Governor again assured everyone that benefits are backdated and asked for continued patience.  The state is building the capacity and training people as quickly as possible.  The Dept. of Job and Family Services has added over 500 employees and the server capacity is maxed out.  Over $114 million has been paid to over 180,000 people.  He said he will have more information on Thursday when the weekly numbers will be released.

Dr. Acton and the Lt. Governor discussed new testing to identify people who have COVID-19 antibodies which shows who had the disease and recovered.  With the assumption that those individuals have some level of immunity, it will allow for planning for the recovery.  Once there is a large enough population with immunity, the typical epidemiology measures of contact tracing and isolation should be effective and allow greater freedom of movement.  The Lt. Governor said the state has leads on tests and is working on getting access to those tests as quickly as possible.

In response to a question regarding the triage of the use of medical equipment, the Governor said he is working everyday to ensure that it does not come to that.  However, his understanding is that the hospitals, in consultation with medical experts and ethicists, are working to establish protocols, but he has not seen it.

Note: For an archive of all COVID-19 related First Alerts from Calfee, which are separate from these emails and focused on specific business topics, please visit the Calfee COVID-19 Resource Center: https://www.calfee.com/covid-19-resource-center

Other items of note

• The Office of Budget and Management released preliminary March 2020 revenue data. Total General Revenue Fund tax receipts finished the month $159.4 million (-10.5%) below estimate.  Total fiscal-year-to-date tax receipts through March exceed estimate by $89.5 million (0.5%) and are $362.0 million (2.2%) over total tax receipts through the same period last fiscal year.  March sales and use tax revenues missed estimates by 8.3% ($68.0 million) and income tax revenues missed estimates by 5.1 percent ($22.3 million).  A more detailed explanation will be included in the Monthly Financial Report, which will be posted on the OBM website on Friday, April 10.
• U.S. Treasury is preparing to ask Congress to swiftly commit an additional $250 billion for the PPP small business relief program that is overwhelmed by demand.
• The coronavirus death toll in New York reached 731 on Tuesday to mark a new one-day high as the state grapples with the outbreak that has killed nearly 5,000 people.  But not all of the updates from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s daily news briefing were as grim: While the number of hospitalizations rose slightly from the day before, the three-day average trended downward. Cuomo cautioned people not to look at any one day but said the three-day average was encouraging.
• Italy announced 3,039 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the country’s total to 135,586 and marking the lowest number of new cases announced since March 13.  In its daily briefing, the country’s Civil Protection Agency announced 604 deaths, increasing the national death toll to 17,127, the highest in the world.  The number of new deaths was down from Tuesday, when 636 were announced, and was considerably lower than the peak of 919 new deaths recorded on March 27.

Key websites

General state updates - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/

Data dashboard - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/dashboard

Dispute Resolution Commission - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/families-and-individuals/stay-at-home-information/Guidance-on-Dispute-Resolutions-for-Essential-and-Non-Essential-Businesses

Ventilator inventory - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/vent-inventory. 

Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19 - https://repurposingproject.com/ 

Election information - https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/  

Closure order FAQ - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/Stay-at-Home-Information/Stay-At-Home-Order-Frequently-Asked-Questions

Unemployment compensation - http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm

Mental health resources - https://mha.ohio.gov/Health-Professionals/About-Mental-Health-and-Addiction-Treatment/Emergency-Preparedness/Coronavirus

Ohio benefits application - https://benefits.ohio.gov/

SharedWork Ohio - http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/SharedWorkOhio/

Support resources for adults - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/resources/resources-for-adults-coping-with-the-covid-19-pandemic

Find your local health district - https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/find-local-health-districts

Job openings - https://jobseeker.ohiomeansjobs.monster.com/home.aspx

COVID-19 checklists - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/COVID-19-Checklists/ 

Business resources - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/resources-for-economic-support

Banking pandemic resources and relief programs - https://www.ohiobankersleague.com/customers 

Pandemic child care center information - http://jfs.ohio.gov/cdc/CoronavirusAndChildcareForFamilies/ 

Checklist for essential travel - https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/stay-at-home-information/essential-travel