Coronavirus is advancing quickly in Ohio, including in all of its rural counties that weren't hit in the spring and summer, and stronger measures are needed that include further enforcement of the state's mask mandate and on social distancing, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday.
"I think you have a number of things," the Republican governor told "CBS This Morning." "One, we're back inside. It's colder. That was predicted. But I think people are really tired, you know, just really fatigued with this whole situation."
He added that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the state's rural areas, which wasn't happening in the early days of the pandemic.
According to the state's COVID-19 monitoring page, Ohio is now up to over confirmed 252,000 cases to date. Currently, nearly 3,000 people are hospitalized, including more than 700 being treated in intensive care units.
DeWine Wednesday night announced the state will further enforce a statewide mask order that has been in effect since July, and said Thursday that the new guidelines include ordering inspectors to enter retail establishments to ensure the mandate is being obeyed.
"We don't want confrontation," said DeWine. "We don't want anybody fighting. And we don't want some 18-year-old clerk out there, you know, having to confront someone. But we're going to go into these stores with our workers' compensation inspectors and their job, frankly, is to keep workplaces safe."
The Ohio Department of Health is also now prohibiting open congregate areas in businesses and requires people in bars and restaurants to stay seated and masked unless they are actively eating or drinking.
DeWine also warned Wednesday night about the possibility of another partial shutdown, and conservatives in the state are discussing ways to stop him, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
"We're back in session next week. We need to pass some bills," Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, said. "He's going to have to listen to us eventually because when it comes to budgeting, guess who is in charge of the budget? We are."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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