Governor DeWine Press Conference Summary for Thursday, June 11

Below are the updates from yesterday’s press conference with Governor DeWine, Lt. Governor Husted, and Dr. Acton. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Tuesday, June 16^th.  

Here’s the news from Thursday: 

• Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
• 37,120 confirmed cases
• 2,884 probable cases  
• 40,004 total cases
• 6,753 hospitalizations
• 2,263 confirmed deaths
• 227 probable deaths
• 2,490 total deaths
• 1,732 ICU admissions
• More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.  

• Governor DeWine announced that Dr. Amy Acton will step down as director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and begin serving as his chief health advisor effective at the end of business today. Lance Himes, who previously served as ODH's director, was named interim-director. In her new role, Dr. Acton will take a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing health and well-being for all Ohioans. In addition to advising on health issues, she will continue to focus on the COVID-19 crisis. 

• Governor DeWine announced that Ohio is expanding testing and encouraged those who want a COVID-19 test, including those who are low-risk or asymptomatic, to talk with their health care provider or contact a testing location to arrange a test. Governor DeWine also announced a series of "pop-up" testing locations, beginning with six locations in Columbus. These temporary testing sites will be available all over the state, including in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Portsmouth, Dayton, Xenia, Columbiana, Akron, and other locations. A flyer is attached and more information on Ohio’s testing locations can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov. 

• Governor DeWine released the latest basic reproduction number or R0 (pronounced “R naught”) for eight regions of Ohio. The R0 represents the number of people, on average, that a person will spread a disease to. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that COVID-19's R0, without interventions, to be 2.5. With Ohio's interventions, the R0 for the state measured slightly lower than 1.0 on June 1. Ohio is beginning to see a slight increase in the R0 measurements, more so in certain parts of Ohio such as the Dayton region. Attached is a map with more information.  

• Although Ohio never closed churches, synagogues, mosques, or other places of worship during this pandemic, we know that most of them stopped holding their traditional in-person services and found other ways to worship to protect their members and the communities where they serve. Governor DeWine today sent a letter to the ministerial community in Ohio to update them on the status of COVID-19 and provide suggested best practices for resuming in-person services. Attached is the Responsible RestartOhio guidance for religious services. 

• JobsOhio announced that minority-owned Stark County businesses will participate in ELITE, London Stock Exchange Group’s business support and development program. In collaboration with JobsOhio and the Stark County Minority Business Association, ELITE USA announced that 13 minority-owned businesses will make up its new cohort. JobsOhio will fund the one-year program, which includes expert consultation regarding strategy, innovation, operations, marketing, governance and risk management, talent management, and leadership.  

• Lt. Governor Husted announced that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) will receive an $8.5 million federal Employment Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant to help reemploy individuals who lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help employers rebuild their workforces. ODJFS will work with the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation to facilitate the grant program through local OhioMeansJobs centers and will distribute the funding to Ohio’s local workforce areas. ODJFS will also provide outreach to employers and services to individuals who were laid off, either permanently or temporarily, as a result of the pandemic.  

• For the week ending June 6, 2020, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported 35,430 initial jobless claims to the U.S. Department of Labor. Over the last 12 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $3.8 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 686,000 claimants. Of the more than 1 million applications the agency has received, nearly 94% have been processed, with about 6% pending. Pursuant to an order from the U.S.  Department of Labor, Ohio will release unemployment numbers on a weekly basis when the national report is released on Thursday. 

• Ohioans can apply for unemployment benefits online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at unemployment.ohio.gov. It is also possible to file by phone at 877-644-6562 or TTY at 888- 642-8203, Monday through Friday 7AM to 7PM, Saturday 9AM to 5PM, and Sunday 9AM to 1PM. Employers with questions should email UCTech@jfs.ohio.gov. 

As always, Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov and the Department of Health hotline, 1-833-4-ASK-ODH are great resources for those who have questions.