Next steps

The first steps of Ohio’s plan are in place.

Indiana’s will come at the end of the week.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday afternoon announced his plans for gradually allowing sectors of the business community to open in the Buckeye State.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he will discuss the future of the state’s stay-at-home order Friday.

Both state’s current stay-at-home orders are set to expire at midnight Friday.

DeWine laid out the following three phases, with others still to come:

•May 1 — Elective healthcare procedures that do not require an overnight stay will be allowed. (Such procedures are already allowed in Indiana.)

•May 4 — Manufacturing, distribution and construction will be allowed to open. Offices will also be allowed to open, though working from home will continue to be encouraged. All businesses that are open, including those that were deemed essential, will be required to have employees wear masks, conduct daily health assessments, maintain social distancing and clean between shifts. “We are doing it in as safe a way as possible based on what we have learned and how health experts have advised us,” said DeWine.

•May 12 — Consumer, retail and service businesses may open, under the same requirements as above. Customers will be required to wear masks.

“No masks, no work, no service, no exception,” DeWine said.

Dine-in restaurants, bars, salons, barber shops, entertainment and recreation venues, and gyms will all remain closed.

While Ohio residents will be allowed to patronize businesses that are open, a modified stay-at-home order will remain in place. Gatherings of more than 10 will still be banned.

“We’re tying to ease out,” said DeWine. “We’re trying to get Ohio back working. We know there’s more things to do. We need to see how this works. We need to monitor the numbers. We need to see how our tracing and testing is going.

“We don’t want to go back. We don’t want to open things up and then have to fall back.”

On Monday, Holcomb offered no details about his plans beyond Friday’s scheduled end of the stay-at-home order. He said he will discuss testing capacity during this afternoon’s press briefing, tracing on Wednesday and plans for “reopening” Friday.

The updates Monday came as Ohio continued to see its new cases of COVID-19 trend down while Indiana posted its highest new case number thus far.

Indiana State Department of Health’s report Monday showed 963 new cases. That number is 35$ higher than the previous peak of 715 in Saturday’s report. New case totals have been at 600 or higher for five consecutive days.

Indiana has now confirmed nearly 16,000 cases of COVID-19. ISDH’s update Monday also included 31 new deaths, bringing the state’s total to 844.

Meanwhile, Ohio reported 362 new cases and its average over the last five days has been 442. The state now has totals of 16,325 cases and 753 deaths.

Jay County confirmed its 13th case of COVID-19 on Monday.

Delaware County has the highest case total in the area at 147, followed by Darke (75), Mercer (18), Randolph (14), Adams (seven), Blackford (seven) and Wells (five).

DeWine noted increased testing and tracing as keys to safely lifting the stay-at-home order.

He said Ohio expects to see its daily testing of about 7,200 double by next week and be up to more than 22,000 by the end of May.

In terms of tracing, he noted that currently the state has 685 public health workers and 900 volunteers. The goal is to provide funding to local health departments to hire more staff and for the state to train a “surge team” with a goal of having 1,750 workers in place by June 1.

DeWine focused on the importance of opening the state while protecting its residents at the same time.

“One step at a time,” he said.

Ohio’s stay-at-home order went into effect at midnight March 23, with Indiana following 24 hours later.

Coronavirus is spread through respiratory droplets from sneezes and coughs, close personal contact and touching something with the virus on it and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes before washing hands. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines encourage frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact with those who are sick, and covering coughs and sneezes with a facial tissue and wearing a mask in public.

For most, COVID-19 symptoms are mild to moderate, including fever, cough and shortness of breath that clear up in two to three weeks. Other symptoms may include chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.