05/01/2020

Governor DeWine Outlines Responsible RestartOhio

Here are its key points

This week, Governor Mike DeWine announced the Responsible RestartOhio effort, and the Development Services Agency is uniquely positioned to be a leading advocate to strike the right balance between the health of Ohio businesses and Ohio communities. The programs we administer assist business, communities and individuals.

The administration’s plan will responsibly restart Ohio's economy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here are key points:

• Beginning Friday, May 1, all medically necessary procedures that do not require an overnight stay in a health care facility or do not require inpatient hospital admission and minimizes use of personal protective equipment may move forward.

• Beginning Monday, May 4, manufacturing, distribution, construction, and general office environments may reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees. These businesses are allowed to open, but they are urged to have employees work from home whenever possible.

• Beginning Tuesday, May 12, consumer, retail and services, may reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees.

• Governor DeWine also announced he is forming advisory groups to develop best practices for the reopening of several industries that include dine-in restaurants, barbershops and hair salons, libraries, travel and tourism destinations, sports facilities, outdoor recreation locations, gyms, theaters, and childcare centers. The goal is to develop recommendations for these businesses that balance the need to protect the health of employees and their customers.

For more information about Responsible RestartOhio, visit Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov.

Governor DeWine today announced that the Ohio Department of Health has issued a "Stay Safe Ohio Order." The new order, which incorporates the openings of businesses and services announced as part of the Responsible RestartOhio plan, will replace the previous "Stay at Home" order, which expires at 11:59 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Office of Small Business Relief’s website – Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov/BusinessHelp – is attracting significant traffic. Since the website was launched on April 8, the site has had more than 22,000 visits and more than 25,000 page-views. The Business Services Division team assigned to the Office has responded to 8,484 emails to BusinessHelp@Development.Ohio.Gov, and 573 phone calls have been received at 1-833-BIZHELP.