By: 1808Delaware Staff
The much-anticipated announcement of the State of Ohio’s plans to “reopen” the state to business was made as promised at Governor Mike DeWine’s Monday news briefing.
The new measures, the first of which goes into effect on May 1, which bring a staggered start to three key economic sectors. For each, mandatory measures will be in place for the business’ physical environment, for employees, and for customers. In some cases, these will be additional requirements which have not yet been imposed, particularly for guests and patrons.
Under Responsible Restart Ohio:
The three sectors to open are:
May 1 – Healthcare – This includes medical procedures that do not involve an overnight stay, and also includes dentists and veterinarians.
May 4 – Manufacturing, Distribution, and Construction
May 12 – Consumer, Retail, and Services
Sector-specific requirements will be mandated in each sector, which include items like daily health checks; continued attention to hygiene such as hand washing and sanitizer; social distancing; maximum occupancy; regular thorough facility cleaning; what happens if an employee tests positive; and more. The operating principle will be “No mask, no work, no service, no exception.”
Some sectors of the economy will continue to be closed until further notice. Those include schools, dine-in restaurants and bars, personal appearance businesses (beauty salons and barbers), senior centers and adult day care servics, and entertainment, recreation, and gyms.
The latter includes all of the following:
- Laser tag facilities, roller skating rinks, ice skating rinks, arcades, indoor miniature golf facilities, bowling alleys, indoor trampoline parks, indoor water parks, arcades, and adult and child skill or chance game facilities remain closed.
- Gambling industries.
- Auditoriums, stadiums, arenas.
- Movie theatres, performance theatres, and concert and music halls
- Public recreation centers and indoor sports facilities.
- Parades, fairs, festivals, and carnivals.
- Amusement parks, theme parks, outdoor water parks, children’s play centers, playgrounds, and funplexes.
- Aquariums, zoos, museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.
- Country clubs and social clubs.
The restrictions on gatherings of more than 10 people continue in place.
All of these new guidelines, including sector-specific mandates for those businesses allowed to open, can be viewed at this location online.
Image by wendy julianto from Pixabay
