Gov. Mike DeWine is laying out protocols for businesses while strongly recommending employers to take aggressive action when it comes to protecting the workplace against coronavirus.
DeWine says businesses and non-profits that remain open must take the temperature of every employee who enters the office, and if anyone is sick or has a fever they must be allowed to go home.
DeWine says the entire state and country is at war and the enemy is the coronavirus.
"When you stop moving, when I stop moving, it stops moving, it can't reach someone else. So each one of us must do all we can to limit our exposure and we must stop enabling this enemy," DeWine says.
He also told businesses to take aggressive sanitation measures.
"This virus' mission is to reproduce. And for it to go from person to person it needs our help. It cannot do its damage without us," DeWine says.
The governor also hinted at the possibility of closing non-essential businesses in the state sometime in the future.
The Ohio Department of Health makes the following recommendations to protect yourself from illness:
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; dry hands with a clean towel or air dry hands.
- Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
Ohio's coronavirus call center is open to answer questions from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The hotline number is 1-833-4-ASK-ODH or 1-833-427-5634. More information is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
