New Health Order Encourages Ohioans To Stay Home

COLUMBUS, OH —A new health order encourages Ohioans to stay home to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The order, signed this week, encourages Ohioans to only go out if they are working or engaging in an "essential" activity. The order was announced by Gov. Mike DeWine and signed by new Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread in Ohio, we need a stronger response to minimize the impact on Ohio’s healthcare and hospital capacity and ensure healthcare is available to those that need it,” DeWine said. “With this order we are discouraging get-togethers and gatherings to minimize the spread of the virus while minimizing the economic impact of a complete shutdown.”

Some key tenets of the order:

• Ohioans must stay within their home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless they're getting food, medical care or providing help for others
  • The order does not apply to the homeless or Ohioans who feel unsafe at home, because of domestic violence, for instance
  • The order does not apply to religious observances and First Amendment protected speech
• The order allows Ohioans to travel into or out of the state

On Thursday, 3,829 Ohioans were hospitalized because of COVID-19, 943 of those patients were in intensive care units. That's the most Ohio patients in hospitals and ICUs since the pandemic began, and double the number of hospitalizations of previous peaks, DeWine said.