These young
musicians
made
headlines
with their Clintonville front-porch cello concert. Keep looking for the good.
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“All of this ordinariness connects us at a time when we need connection the most. We’re calling people and talking voice-to-voice, giving them our full attention when we ask, “How are you?” because we’re particularly invested in the answer. We’re taking quiet walks with a friend or family member. We’re experiencing the intimacy of seeing inside our co-workers’ bedrooms with their hastily made beds in our Zoom meetings. We’re asking about their parents, siblings, spouses, and children in a way we don’t normally do at the office. We’re publicly reaching out on social media to recommend books, movies, podcasts, soothing playlists, and museums we can visit virtually while we’re separate but oh-so-together in our fear. In this world that has had trouble practicing civility lately, we are experiencing a much-needed resurgence of kindness.”
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The number of states who have made the decision to
close K-12 schools
(as of 3/19 at 11:35 am) due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Education Week
has a state-by-state map that they are continuing to update.
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So... a lot has changed even in a week, and there is
so much
information to be tracking. Here are just a few actions taken by our local and state government officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Columbus
This week, City Council
approved
$1 million in emergency support for local families, via Ordinance 0738-2020. Funds will be used to support families in need of housing or food assistance. Check out the city’s
website
for frequent updates.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has declared a
state of emergency
, allowing him to move quickly to acquire needed supplies, order city employees to stay home, and more.
Ohio
as well as the
U.S.
are also under respective states of emergencies, enabling them to move quickly and drawn down much-needed resources.
Here
is a good article on how declaring a state of emergency can help governments respond to the crisis.
State of Ohio
Closures
of K-12 schools, gyms, rec centers, bowling alleys, movie theaters, indoor water and trampoline parks, bars and restaurants, BMVs, barber shops and hair salons, spas, and tattoo parlors. An
order
for hospitals, veterinarians and dentists to delay elective surgeries.
Bans
on mass gatherings larger than 50.
Restrictions
on visits to prisons and nursing homes. A
request
of employers who remain open to check the temperature of employees arriving at work. A
recommendation
for Ohio colleges and universities to move to e-learning.
Child care updates
. First, Gov. DeWine issued an executive order that would temporarily change child care regulations, specifically to ease
staff-to-child ratio requirements
for child care centers as well as increase paid absent days for publicly funded programs (from 10 to 20). “It also allows for 21 paid days for programs forced to close because of the pandemic.”
ODJFS just created a new
landing page
for information on child care during the pandemic. The state will also allow programs to apply to become licensed as a “pandemic child care provider.” (Those licensing procedures can be found
here
; application
here
.) As reported by Gongwer News, "Facilities operating under temporary pandemic child care licenses will face eased regulations, with rules on child safety remaining in effect. ‘It is important that professionals who are essential to protecting the public are able to ensure their families have safe places to go while they are at work,’ Gov. DeWine said in a statement. ‘Helping to address this need allows our health and safety providers to focus on protecting and caring for all Ohioans.’ The temporary licenses will be available to existing child care centers as well as new facilities created in response to the crisis. ‘Health care workers, first responders, and those working so hard to provide Ohioans with essential services are needed now more than ever. These measures will ensure that these families can maintain their work schedules, while resting assured that their children are safe,’ ODJFS Director Kimberly Hall said. ‘These measures will be in force for the duration of the pandemic.’"
Gov. DeWine also hinted at possible forthcoming daycare closures, asking parents to begin planning for their eventual closure – as of this Wednesday’s press conference. He urged parents and caregivers to “remove students from these programs to the extent possible... in the interest of public health. These programs should be limited in nature and used to serve students for whom no other reasonable care alternative exists.”
Finally, be sure to check out Groundwork’s
excellent recommendations
to state administrators for supporting young children, families, and child care providers.
A request to the feds for small business loans.
According to Gongwer News, Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted sent a letter on Tuesday to the U.S. Small Business Administration, asking for Economic Injury Disaster Loans to be made available for Ohio small businesses. If granted, companies to could apply for loans of up to $2 million to offset lost revenue related to the pandemic.
Telemedicine changes,
made by the State Medical Board, that would make it easier for professionals to practice telemedicine as well as for staff to license out-of-state doctors and providers.
Meanwhile, just as Ohio’s K-12 schools were about to start state testing, legislators are working
on a bill
that would eliminate consequences related to test results. The state still needs to figure out federal requirements related to annual exams, but given how many are shuttering, we’re guessing the feds will be lenient on this. Also up in the air are details related to high school graduation.
Given the speed with which all this is happening, we’ve never felt more gratitude for our public officials demonstrating leadership, making tough choices, and moving quickly for the public good. The same is true for doctors, nurses, medical staff, delivery workers, grocery store employees, and essential workers of all kinds who are keeping our systems up and running and demonstrating extraordinary sacrifice.
Get familiar with Ohio’s
one stop resource for updates
related to COVID-19. And
here
is a list of FAQs for Ohio school districts, posted by the Ohio Department of Education.
A note here on the growing role for all of us
While government officials have been moving swiftly to respond, so have others – like Columbus
utility companies
suspending non-payment disconnections, universities stepping up for the safety of
students
and
faculty
, and non-profits providing critical information and services.
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Groundwork Ohio
is hosting a webinar today at 1 pm on how child care providers are handling the ever-changing COVID-19 situation. Accessing unemployment benefits and utilizing small business loans will be discussed, as well as any updates on state and federal guidance.
Register here.
Here’s an innovative idea amidst schools and universities moving online. On Wednesday,
Bluffton University
education majors begun providing academic help and educational activities and games and activities via Zoom in response to K-12 school closures in Ohio. Sessions will be held from 9 am – 12 pm at least through April 3rd.
More info here
.
The Columbus Metropolitan Club has begun livestreaming its forums, free of charge. You can view the forums live on CMC’s
YouTube channel
.
Check out their website
for a list of upcoming forums.
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We’re all adjusting to the new normal and our resident media expert,
Dr. Rebecca Dore
, has some tips for how to engage in screen time with children while coronavirus keeps us all at home. Read Rebecca’s latest post in
The Conversation
here
.
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Knowing more about a virus threat
may not satisfy you, according to a
new study
from the
School of Communication
at The Ohio State University. This study focused on the Zika virus, but has implications for the current coronavirus pandemic as both novel viruses received intense media attention and were surrounded by uncertainty. “We found that the more people thought they knew, the more they realized they didn’t know enough,” said
Austin Hubner
, lead author and doctoral student in the School of Communication.
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This edition written by: Jamie Davies O'Leary, Associate Director of Policy and Caitlin Lennon, Communications & Policy Specialist
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Follow us on Twitter @CraneCenterOSU
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