Complete Story
03/31/2020
COVID-19 Update from Governor DeWine
Ohio State Press Conference Summary: 3/27 – 3/30
Monday, 3/30: Gov. DeWine started with the news that the FDA gave approval to Battelle to get their sterilization process for masks into full production use in Ohio and other states – up to 160,000 masks sterilized per day. The Governor also announced an extension of the school closure order until Friday 5/1. It was announced that there will be more visibility of the National Guard in Ohio to help support local efforts to combat the spread of the virus. The Governor stated that a new social distancing order is being discussed and there will be an announcement on new guidelines in the next few days.
Lt. Gov. Husted stated that Ohio in the commercial lending sector, most banks and credit unions have agreed to a deferral of principal and interest payments 90 days, to be recouped at the end of the loan period. Businesses should contact their bank representatives. The unemployment call center is open 7:00 am – 7:00 pm Monday-Friday and 9:00 am – 1:00 pm on Saturday for those that need to call instead of going through the website. Unemployment website capacity has been increased by about 20X. Benefit application under the CARES Act will need a new website developed – this will happen over the next few weeks.
Sunday, 3/29: Gov. DeWine opened with a discussion of the need for the N-95 masks for the state medical workers and the innovation from Ohio company Battelle to develop a sterilization process for these masks.
Saturday, 3/28: Gov. DeWine opened with remarks asking the business community for any assistance they can provide with manufacturing additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the state. Any businesses that can assist should email the state at together@governor.ohio.gov.
Lt. Gov. Husted stated that Ohio has opted-in to all phases of the federal CARES Act for the unemployment provisions, retroactive to January 27th, and will be available for 39 weeks. State is working with private sector to get the website updated so that newly affected people can enroll (relates to 1099 workers). The standard unemployment website is functioning for those claims.
In regard to health insurance, the Lt. Gov. stated that insurers are working with the state to make sure that if people are going to an out-of-network hospital for COVID-19 care, they will be covered.
Friday, 3/27: Gov. DeWine signed House Bill #197 which provided among other things an extension for professional license renewals and extended the deadline for filing of state tax forms until July 15, matching the Federal tax filing extension. He also discussed the new options from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for companies to receive a loan that is convertible to a grant if used for maintaining payroll. Visit www.sba.gov for more information.
Lt. Gov. Husted stated that while there is an overload of requests in the state unemployment system, those that qualify should continue to apply and their requests will be backdated to the day that they qualify for benefits. Sen. Rob Portman also stated that the CARES Act will also provide an expansion of unemployment benefits up to a $600/week maximum.
For more information on Ohio’s business assistance, the Lt. Gov. urged business owners to go to http://www.coronavirus.ohio.gov/businesshelp to see all of the available resources.
