Ohio’s dine-in restaurants are not among the businesses that will resume in a few days. Restaurants are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to allow them to open mid-May.
The Ohio Restaurant Association’s Homa Moheimeni wants DeWine to announce now that he will allow restaurants to reopen for dine-in service on May 15. Moheimeni says that will give restaurants time to implement health and safety measures such as social distancing, masks, sanitizing and other changes.
“Each day, each hour, each week that this goes on, the restaurants are going to struggle more and more. They are running out of cash essentially," Moheimeni says.
Moheimeni says 300,000 employees have been laid off or furloughed because of the closure of dine-in service, and nearly half of all restaurants have closed. She adds if they are not allowed to reopen soon, many of them could be closing for good.
Unlike other states, restaurants and bars were not included in Ohio's first phase of reopening, which the governor announced on Monday. The state's stay-at-home order and ban on gatherings of over 10 people will remain in place.
DeWine said additional openings could happen in two week increments to allow state officials to monitor the spread of the coronarivus.
Starting on May 1, the state will start to lift the ban on medical procedures that don't require an overnight stay in the hospital. Dentists and veterinarians can also reopen.
On May 4, DeWine said office workplaces can reopen, along with manufacturing, distribution and construction services but must follow strict health protocols.
