- Advocacy Team
COVID-19 State Updates: May 11, 2020
By Sunday, 24,081 Ohioans had been infected with the coronavirus and 1,341 had died.
From the Governor’s Office here are five protocols for all businesses:
Require face coverings for employees and recommend them for clients/customers at all times.
Conduct daily health assessments by employers and employees (self-evaluation) to determine if “fit for duty.”
Maintain good hygiene at all times – hand washing, sanitizing and social distancing.Clean and sanitize workplaces throughout workday and at the close of business or between shifts.
Limit capacity to meet social distancing guidelines.
Establish maximum capacity at 50% of fire code.
And, use appointment setting where possible to limit congestion.
Governor Mike DeWine announced at his Thursday briefing that places of business such as hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons, and tanning facilities may reopen on May 15.
A list of mandatory and recommended best practices for personal services is here.
In addition, restaurants and bars can open for outside dining on May 15 with indoor dining opening on May 21.
On Monday, the Governor said he’ll have an announcement about childcare.
Under previously announced reopening plans, elective surgeries without an overnight hospital stay resumed May 1, manufacturing, distribution, construction and general office businesses reopened May 4 and consumer, retail and services businesses will reopen on May 12.
According to Crain’s Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Health plans to screen 1,200 residents in their homes for the virus through a nasal swab test and through an antibody blood test.
Screening may start as soon as next week.
Selected households will receive a postcard and a letter in the mail.
Participation is voluntary and recipients may opt out by phone or email or decline to participate when the state workers arrive.
The Ohio Department of Health is looking to fill open “contact tracing” jobs, part-time health workers who will help investigate small coronavirus outbreaks to try to prevent them from spreading.
The first is a contact tracer position and the second is a supervisory job.
Notice to Employers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services: If you have employees who do not return to work or resign, it is important to let the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) know so accurate eligibility determinations can be made.
To report these occurrences, please visit https://unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov/employer/ and click on “Return to Work Guidelines.”
This will take you to a web page to report employees for investigation by the ODJFS.