04/14/2020

COVID-19 Update: First Responder Safety, Essential Job Openings and More

April 14, 2020

Today, Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted and Dr. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Currently, there are 7,280 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 324 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 2,156 people have been hospitalized, including 654 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.

In addition to previous emergency measures taken by the Ohio Department of Medicaid to help increase access to healthcare for millions of Ohioans, the governor announced today that his administration is submitting its first waiver application to the federal government, known as 1135 or Appendix K, to provide the needed flexibility to address this crisis.

This waiver will allow Ohio to:

• Bolster the use of telehealth and other technology for health assessments and care planning;
• Waive signature requirements for a variety of providers to ensure safe distancing without compromising access to care;
• Ease obstacles to access nursing home care;
• Allow services to be provided at alternative locations; and
• Remove staffing-level requirements to give providers more flexibility.

"Removing restrictions like these during this pandemic will allow health care workers to focus on meeting the needs of Ohioans," said DeWine. 

Upon approval, the waiver will be retroactively applied from March 1, 2020.  

To protect our first responders and to ensure consistency across the state, Acton announced that a new order has been issued that requires local health departments to provide to their jurisdictions' dispatch agency or agencies the names and addresses of COVID-19-positive individuals. Dispatch agencies are required to keep this information confidential. By knowing in advance if they will be interacting with someone who has tested positive, first responders will be better prepared when they arrive at a scene with appropriate protective gear. 

Husted announced that 667 critical employers have listed around 41,000 essential job openings on coronavirus.ohio.gov/jobsearch. Examples of companies that are hiring include Amazon, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, CVS Health, FedEx Ground, Kroger, LiveOps and Walmart.

"These employers have created safe environments for their employees," said Husted. "These employers need you if you can answer the call."