Dewine extends overnight curfew
Ohioans are not being liberated from the state’s 2-month-old, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. COVID-19 curfew.
Gov. Mike Dewine announced Thursday that the overnight curfew, which banned all but essential and work-related travel beginning Nov. 19 and was scheduled to expire after Saturday, will be extended in hopes of reducing the spread of coronavirus.
“Unfortunately, it’s going to have to stay ... we had a downtick (of cases) for a few days, but we’re at a very high level,” he said. “We would love to get rid of it. The next step may be to take it to 11 p.m., but we’re not there.”
Dewine defended the unpopular curfew as a needed step amid cold winter months that force people to spend more time inside, increasing the risk of virus spread. Dewine said the curfew was a compromise to avoid closing restaurants and bars altogether.
The governor’s office said the date to which the curfew is being extended had not been finalized as of mid-afternoon Thursday.