Hospitals

Dr. Acton said.

DeWine has moved aggressively to slow the coronavirus spread, closing schools, bars, restau- rants, polling places, and non-essential businesses. He has warned Ohioans to be ready for the long haul.

But President Donald Trump has said Americans soon could return to work, saying in a tweet on Tuesday: “The cure cannot be worse by far than the problem.”

DeWine said he is aligned with the president.

DeWine said he shares Trump’s frustration to get this over as fast as possible, but the governor added, “The truth is that protecting people and protecting the economy are not mutu- ally exclusive. In fact, one depends upon the other. The fact is, we save our economy by first saving lives and we have to do it in that order.”

The short-term conse- quences of slowing the econ- omy now to stop coronavirus far outweigh the “long- term economic meltdown from a deadly virus that is left unchecked. We cannot leave this unchecked,” he said.

State lawmak e rs are scheduled to return to Columbus today to vote on emergency measures related to Ohio’s response to the coronavirus crisis, including waiving state-mandated standardized testing requirements for K-12 schools, extending the state income tax filing deadline and establishing a new primary election date.

State Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, introduced a bill Tuesday to extend mail-in voting to April 28.

T h e Ohio House announced extraordinary protocols to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus among lawmakers, journalists and others.

House members feeling unwell but insisting on attending will be quaran- tined in a members-only lounge and the clerk will record their votes through the window. Members are directed to take their temperatures before attending session.

Lawmakers will be seated at least 6 feet apart on the House floor and in the gallery, which is normally reserved for the public, and other lawmakers will be staged in satellite rooms in the Statehouse. Only essen- tial staff will attend.

The press and public will be barred from attending the session — a rule cur- rently being contested by the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association.

Four members of the Georgia Senate tested positive for coronavirus and the entire state legislature there was urged to self-isolate.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, authored a column in the Washington Post calling for the U.S. Senate to change its rules to allow for remote voting during a national crisis.