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DeWine says Ohio is Collaborating with White House on Plans to Reopen State
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Part of Ohio’s response to COVID-19 is planning how to begin allowing businesses to reopen after the Stay At Home order is set to expire on May 1. As Gov. Mike DeWine has been discussing how those plans look in Ohio, President Donald Trump suggests the decision comes from the White House.
President Donald Trump said in a tweet that it is up to the President of the United States to decide if states can open back up. In another tweet, Trump added that he is working with governor’s to gain their input.
DeWine says he has been working closely with the White House and relaying the decisions they’ve made in Ohio. He says it would be up to the lawyers to decide if the president can overrule a governor’s order, but he doesn’t think it will come to that.
“This is not a confrontational issue between us and the White House. This is we work together, we will continue to work together,” says DeWine.
DeWine says he’s been keeping in touch with Vice President Mike Pence and feels confident the White House will approve of the plan Ohio lays out.
“Every state is different and we’re gonna have to lay out a plan and I’m confident that the Ohio plan we lay out the White House will think is fine, but it’s really this kind of collaborative effort as we move forward,” DeWine says.
On Monday, DeWine announced a new order requiring nursing homes to notify family members and the public about cases of COVID-19 at their facilities.
The coronavirus has proven to have the ability to spread quickly through long-term care facilities where the majority of the population fall in the high-risk category for the virus.
DeWine says this is information that should be public.
“If you’re thinking about taking a loved one or if you’re thinking about going to a nursing home you have every right to know what the situation is there,” he says.
Nursing homes are required to report if a resident or a staff member has COVID-19. That information will be made available through the state’s coronavirus website.