Gov. Mike DeWine has made some mistakes in the last 12 months of COVID-19. We all have. But DeWine generally has been a steady steward of Ohio during unfathomably difficult times, and we're once again seeing the value of his patient, mature leadership as the state approaches the finish line of its pandemic response.
The governors of Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana and Texas last week declared that state mask mandates would no longer be needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Mississippi and Texas are essentially reopening their states with no restrictions. And there's an increased level of yapping from ambitious political figures in Ohio to follow suit. DeWine, though, is acting cautiously — and wisely — by keeping some restrictions in place and setting a specific standard for lifting all COVID-19 public health orders.
Last Thursday, March 4, DeWine said those orders will end when Ohio "gets down to 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks." Numbers like that can feel abstract, but here's the important context: On Dec. 3, 2020, Ohio was at 731 cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. By Feb. 3, that number had fallen to 445. And by March 3, it was lower still, at 179. The numbers are going the right way, fast, in large part due to the stepped-up pace of vaccinations.
DeWine noted that more than 1.8 million Ohioans (about 15% of the population) have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and the state now has more than 1,200 vaccination locations. In Ohio's nursing homes, a top priority for vaccinations, DeWine said coronavirus cases have fallen by 90% since December — to about 270 case per week from more than 2,800.
The federal government is doing its part on this front, with the help of private industry. The Biden administration announced last week that the country will have enough vaccine supply to inoculate every American adult by the end of May, two months earlier than previously expected. That timeframe was sped up by Merck & Co. agreeing to help produce the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, and Johnson & Johnson, in turn, beginning to operate its manufacturing facilities 24/7.
We're getting closer to ending the misery of these rotten past 12 months. But the work is not done. Variants of COVID-19 produce new threats. As Robert Wachter, chairman of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Bloomberg last week, "We're now dealing with a virus that's better at its job than the one we were dealing with a few months ago, so it makes it even more irresponsible" to reopen immediately.
The reopening debate obscures progress Ohio has made in getting back to normal. We no longer have stay-at-home orders or a curfew. Restaurants, bars and gyms are open, albeit with some restrictions. Sports and entertainment venues are back with capacity limits.
The path to a full return to normal, DeWine emphasized, is for "each of us getting vaccinated when we can, and by each of us wearing masks in public."
About 17,000 Ohioans have died from COVID-19, a terribly high number. To keep it from going much higher, we have to be more vigilant than ever. Be patient. This looks to be almost over. We applaud DeWine for standing up to political pressure to keep the state safe for a while longer.
A bipartisan group of Ohio House and Senate members last week announced the intention to reintroduce the Ohio Fairness Act — legislation that would grant nondiscrimination protections to the LGBTQ community in employment, housing and public accommodations.
We've previously supported this legislation, as have business groups, and continue to do so. This will be, embarrassingly, the 10th time lawmakers have tried to get the Fairness Act through the General Assembly. Ohio is behind the curve in offering the basic protections needed to make the state a desirable place to live and work. In discussing a planned state marketing campaign to attract people here, DeWine said he considers Ohio to be "progressive." Definitions can vary, but passing the Fairness Act would send a strong message that Ohio is open for business and welcomes everyone.
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March 07, 2021 at 04:00PM
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Crain's editorial: Don't let up in the fight against the pandemic - Crain's Cleveland Business
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