Governor Mike DeWine says he will extend the statewide curfew that was scheduled to expire later this week.
The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was ordered November 17th, to encourage Ohioans to stay at home. DeWine says it appears the curfew is having some effect - but state medical director Doctor Bruce Vanderhoff says Ohioans need to do more.
"The rate of new cases in Ohio, according to the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is in the neighborhood of 160% of the national average. When you look at that national map that shows the rate of positivity on our testing all of our neighborhing states except Pennsylvania have lower rates of test positivity. Meaning we're now the state that the other states are advising people to avoid travel to. You put all of that together and you have a picture of us having had some degree of success in slowing the rate of increase. That's good. But we're going to need to go further if we're going to even get to a flattening."
In the past week the seven-day average of positive tests rose from 13.9% to 15.8%, the highest since the spring surge in April.
DeWine is expected to announce details the extension on Thursday. Nonessential businesses would have to close by 10pm. Pharmacies, grocery stores and restaurants that offer takeout or delivery service are exempt. And DeWine says the order doesn’t apply to people who need to be at work, who have an emergency or need medical care.
