COPY-DeWine details new order for reporting COVID cases in K-12 schools
Governor Mike DeWine said he is issuing an order Thursday for the reporting of coronavirus cases for K-12 schools.
The order has three goals.
Notify parents if their child has been in contact with someone positive for COVID-19 within 24 hours of receiving that test or diagnosis
Notify parents if someone in their child's building test positive within 24 hours, without releasing protected health information
Make sure the public is aware of cases in their local districts
The order will go into effect on September 8.
Beginning September 15, local health departments will report the number of newly reported and cumulative cases to the Ohio Department of Health every Tuesday.
The department will then publish this data by school or school district, including a breakdown by students and staff every Thursday.
In addition, the governor said a school district or school will identify a COVID-19 coordinator to facilitate the reporting of case information and upon request, schools or buildings are required to provide their health department with a copy of their pandemic plan.
DeWine also said he does not believe schools that are fully remote will need to report cases.
"As I have said before, just because a school may have positive cases among its students and staff, that does not mean the schools did anything wrong," said DeWine. "Schools can't control what happens out in the community where someone may have contracted the virus."
The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,345 new coronavirus cases Thursday, totaling 127,112 cases overall.
Fifty new deaths were reported, which DeWine said is the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths reported to the health department on a single day since June.
Hospitalizations have risen by 89, while ICU admissions are up by 14.
DeWine said the amount of coronavirus cases in younger groups from March to August has jumped to 35-40 percent of all cases in the 18-22 age group.
"To our friends in college, we ask you to be careful," said Governor DeWine. "You might not get seriously sick, but you can spread the virus to someone who could."
DeWine is also renewing his call made on Tuesday to be safe this Labor Day weekend.
"Labor Day is time for some travel, picnics, and end-of-summer-get-togethers, but COVID-19 is still a threat, and I ask you to continue to be safe," said DeWine.
DeWine also marked six months since one of the first decisions to stop the curb of the virus, which was to cancel spectators attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus.
"Ohioans have, from the beginning, stepped up and have done what had to done," said the governor. "Although there has been much tragedy because of the virus, we have so far avoided the huge spikes we saw in many other sates. I want to thank all Ohioans for that."
Also announced in the governor's briefing is a new effort called the Ohio Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network to study wastewater at a number of sewage treatment plants to help contain the spread of the virus.
"The system will give us an earlier sign of possible COVID-19 case increases in any given community and allow decision-makers to more quickly plan prevention and response efforts," said DeWine.
There are two wastewater treatment plants in the Youngstown area that are a part of this network, the Youngstown Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Warren Water Pollution Control Plant.
