Complete Story
11/18/2020
COVID-19 Mandates for GMA Regions
Ohio State Updates: 11/11 - 11/17
Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Health will be issuing a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. statewide curfew beginning on Thursday, November 19. The curfew will be in effect for 21 days. The curfew will not apply to those going to or from work, those who have an emergency, or those who need medical care. The curfew is not intended to stop anyone from getting groceries or going to a pharmacy. Picking up carry-out or a drive-thru meal and ordering for delivery will be permitted, but serving food and drink in person must cease at 10 p.m.
Lt. Governor Husted reminded Ohio small businesses that the application period for the Small Business Relief Grant and Bar and Restaurant Assistance Fund is now open. The Small Business Relief Grant provides a $10,000 grant to small businesses with at least one but no more than 25 employees. The grant funding will help businesses pay for a variety of expenses, including mortgage or rent payments; utility payments; salaries, wages, or compensation for employees and contractors; business supplies or equipment; and other costs. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Governor DeWine announced that Ohio Department of Health Interim Director Lance Himes signed the health order to enforce mask-wearing in retail locations across the state in compliance with the statewide mandatory mask order signed on July 23, 2020. The order took effect November 16, 2020.
The governor continued a travel advisory for all individuals coming into Ohio from states reporting positive COVID-19 testing rates of 15% or higher. Those traveling from one of the following states should self-quarantine for 14 days at home or in a hotel: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.
The self-quarantine recommendation applies to those who live in Ohio and to people who are traveling into Ohio from any of these states. Ohio's positivity rate, an indicator of the percentage of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, was 12.9% over the last 7 days (up from 10.0%). Visit www.coronavirus.ohio.gov for tips on how to effectively quarantine.
Ohio recorded its eighth straight week with an increase in new COVID-19 cases, with an average of 7,353 new cases per day over the last 7 days compared to an average of 5,307 new cases per day over the previous 7 days.
Michigan State Updates: 11/11 - 11/17
Michigan Covid-19 Updates:
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a new emergency order on Sunday, November 15 that enacts a three-week pause targeting indoor social gatherings and other group activities in an effort to curb rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rates.
Under this order, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time. However, MDHHS strongly urges families to pick a single other household to interact with over the next three weeks, consistent with new guidance released by the department. The order is aimed at limiting residential and non-residential gatherings where COVID-19 spreads rapidly. Bars and restaurants will be open for outdoor dining, carry-out and delivery only. Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place. Casinos, movie theaters and group exercise classes will be closed. Professional and college sports meeting extraordinary standards for risk mitigation may continue without spectators, however all other organized sports must stop. Colleges and high schools may proceed with remote learning but must end in-person classes.
This new emergency order, which takes effect Wednesday, Nov. 18, is not a blanket stay-home action like in the spring. The order leaves open work that cannot be performed from home, including manufacturing, construction and health occupations. Outdoor gatherings, outdoor dining and parks remain open. Individualized activities with distancing and face masks are still allowed: retail shopping; public transit; restaurant takeout; personal-care services such as haircuts, by appointment; and individualized exercise at a gym, with extra spacing between machines.
Michigan has seen fewer outbreaks associated with elementary and middle schools, and younger children are most in need of in-person instruction. In-person K-8 schooling may continue if it can be done with strong mitigation, including mask requirements, based on discussion between local health and school officials. Childcare also remains open to support working parents. Throughout this crisis, Michigan’s teachers and childcare workers have served on the front lines ensuring support for working parents and educating our children. Governor Whitmer’s administration has worked around the clock to protect Michigan’s teachers and childcare workers and the other heroes serving on the front lines of the pandemic.
Kentucky State Updates: 11/11 - 11/17
With more than 250,000 American lives, including those of more than 1,700 Kentuckians, lost to the virus, Governor Beshear is joining state executives from across the country in implementing new restrictions. This is not, and will not be, a shutdown. The economy is open, and there will be no closings based on essential or nonessential services. But they have announced significant, but surgical and targeted steps designed to slow the spread of the virus and protect the people. The Governor said requirements for restaurants; bars; social gatherings; indoor fitness and recreation centers; venues and theaters; and professional services are effective at 5 p.m. Friday, November 20, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, December 13. See the full executive order here.
- Restaurants, Bars – No indoor food or beverage consumption; carryout and delivery encouraged; socially distance outdoor seating.
- Private social gatherings – Up to eight people from a maximum of two households.
- Gyms, fitness centers, pools, other indoor recreation facilities – 33% capacity limit; group classes, team practices and competitions prohibited; masks must be worn while exercising.
- Venues, event spaces and theaters – Each room will be limited to 25 people. This applies to indoor weddings and funerals, but excludes in-person worship services, for which the Governor will provide recommendations Thursday, November 20.
- Professional services – Office-based businesses limited to 33% of employees; all employees who are able to work from home must do so; all businesses that can close to the public must do so.
- Schools – All public and private schools (K -12) to cease in-person instruction. New requirements for schools will begin Monday, November 23. See the executive order
- Middle and high schools will remain in remote or virtual instruction until at least January 4, 2021.
- Elementary schools may reopen for in-person instruction December 7 if their county is not in the red zone and the school follows all Healthy at School
Out of 120 counties in Kentucky, 94 are now designated as being red zone counties. Gov. Beshear implored Kentuckians to follow the red zone recommendations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says masks protect both the wearer and those around them from COVID-19 and reduces the risk of transmitting or catching the virus by more than 70% in various instances. Click here to see a list of red zone counties. Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, stated COVID-19 is expected to be the nation’s third leading cause of death in 2020, only behind heart disease and cancer.
Some Kentuckians enrolled in Medicaid who have been receiving P-EBT benefits are awaiting their new P-EBT card. A vendor with whom the Cabinet for Health and Family Services is contracted to produce and provide P-EBT, Fidelity Information Services LLC, is working through a backlog to get these cards issued so Kentuckians receive their benefits as soon as possible. Secretary Friedlander stated, “Children in Kentucky will receive their new cards by the end of the month. Beneficiaries were auto-enrolled and do not need to make additional requests for these benefits.”
Gov. Beshear – along with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers – appear in a social media video to encourage everyone across the region to take the COVID-19 threat seriously and remain safe. To view the video, click here.
New COVID-19 cases have increased in Kentucky again this week, with an average of 2,535 new cases per day over the last 7 days compared to an average of 2,002 new cases per day over the previous 7 days. Day-to-day numbers continue to fluctuate.
