Governor DeWine Press Conference for Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Below are the updates from today’s press conference with Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted. The next press conference is currently scheduled for Thursday, November 19th at 2:00 PM.
Here’s the news from Thursday:
- Ohio’s COVID-19 case data is below:
- 296,387 confirmed cases
- 16,056 probable cases
- 312,433 total cases
- 22,846 hospitalizations
- 5,412 confirmed deaths
- 360 probable deaths
- 5,772 total deaths
- 4,250 ICU admissions
- More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.
- 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. A copy of the order will be provided as soon as it’s available.
- 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.
- Governor DeWine today provided details on Ohio's vaccine prepositioning plan. ODH has identified 10 sites across the state that will receive the pre-positioned vaccine after a COVID-19 vaccine is given emergency-use authorization. Once the CDC and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issues its recommendation on how to use the vaccine, these sites will begin administering the vaccine immediately.
- The ten pre-positioned sites were selected based on geography, population, and access to ultra-cold storage capacity. Other sites will begin receiving shipments of vaccine following final approval, potentially just days after the pre-positioned sites begin administering the vaccine.
- Ohio will first vaccinate those who are most at risk, including those who work in long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and other congregate-care facilities, high-risk health care workers, and first responders.
- As students at Ohio’s colleges and universities are preparing to head home for the holidays, the Ohio Department of Higher Education and Ohio Hospital Association are launching a new campaign to encourage students to keep themselves and family members safe while they're at home. The "Home and Healthy for the Holidays" campaign will provide tips for students to follow before, during, and after holiday travel.
- College students are encouraged to share how they plan to be safe during the holidays by posting to social media using the hashtags #HomeandHealthyfortheHolidays and #BackOnCampus21.
- Governor DeWine announced the release of a new holiday celebration guide from the Ohio Department of Health to help families celebrate safely during the 2020-2021 holiday season. The guide provides alternatives to large in-person celebrations for a variety of holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Orthodox New Year, and others.
- Attached are the slides that Governor DeWine used during today’s press conference.
- 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.