On May 1, Ohio will begin a phased-in reopening of the state economy that will take place over a long period of time to minimize the health risk to business owners, employees and their customers. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, in consultation with Ohio Dept. of Health Dir. Dr. Acton, will lead the governor’s board of economic advisors to identify best practices to ensure Ohioans health and safety as businesses begin the process of reopening. As Ohio begins to reopen, the Governor stressed the need to balance:
Compliance with public health measures;
Implementation of safeguards in business; and
Protections for the most vulnerable Ohioans.
Gov. DeWine is reminding Ohioans to complete the 2020 Census. Currently,Ohio‘s response rate of 52.2% is higher than the national average and higher than all neighboring states except Michigan, which has a response rate of 55%. To learn more, go to 2020Census.gov or call 844-330-2020.
Gov. DeWine announced he will work closely with the Governors of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Kentucky to coordinate the reopening of the regional economy. The states will review four factors as they reopen their economies: the number of cases in the state and the number of hospital admissions, the amount of hospital capacity, the ability to test and trace cases of COVID-19, and best practices for social distancing in businesses.
Lt. Gov. Husted has announced that by the end of next week, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) will be able to start processing the additional $600-a-week payments authorized by Congress’s CARES Act. ODJFS is also planning to launch an online tool that will allow self-employed, 1099 workers to get in line early to ensure their paperwork is filed and ready for review once the technology is ready. The department projects that they will start processing those claims by May 15.
