COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Star received a tip that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was calling on larger businesses in Ohio’s red counties (according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System) to keep their employees at home.
During a special news briefing held on Wednesday announcing a Bureau of Workers Compensation dividend giveback of $5 billion to Ohio businesses, The Star asked the governor about the tip and whether he was urging businesses to keep employees at home.
The Star asked:
Governor there are experts who believe that quarantining and distancing healthy people is the wrong strategy – Dr. Scott Atlas, the thousands of medical experts and scientists who signed the Great Barrington Declaration and the recent study released by the British Medical Journal.
Part one, What do your experts say about this?
Part two, we received a report that you’re asking big businesses in red to keep their employees at home, is this true?
Governor DeWine answered:
Well, as far as quarantine, we’re basically following what the best guidelines are and we try to do that throughout the pandemic.
As far as the talking to businesses – look, we are in a difficult time in Ohio. If people can work from home, we want them to do that, but that’s going to be up to the individual business.
It depends on what that business does, it depends on the nature of that business, and the nature of the particular job that person has. But if people are still working from home this would not be a time to switch them back.
If you’ve been able to have them work from home up until now – now that we’re starting to shoot back up – it certainly would not be a time to change plans.
We’re just asking businesses to look at this, make their own determination, but if people can work from home, obviously that’s a good thing at this point.
Look, we’re headed into November, December, January which most experts months ago said could be a more difficult time. So anytime that we can lessen exposure and lessen the possibility of transmission of the virus and that can be done we certainly encourage people to do that.
DeWine also said during his press conference that “our economy is coming back but businesses continue to struggle.” Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted said the administration was looking at all ideas to keep people employed and earning money for their families by keeping businesses alive.
These types of policy decisions may have an impact on Ohio races next week.
Wednesday’s Rasmussen poll showed that President Donald J. Trump regained the projected national lead over contender Biden and Real Clear Politics showed Trump with a slight lead over Biden in the Buckeye State.
The next press briefing on COVID is scheduled for Thursday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
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Jack Windsor is Managing Editor at both The Ohio Star and The Michigan Star. Windsor is also an Investigative Reporter at WMFD-TV and The Virginia Star. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
