State order not required to do the right thing

Ohioans are being asked to do the hardest thing since the first cases of novel coronavirus were reported in the state: re-engage with people with the threat of getting sick or worse.

Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled his plan for how to carefully reopen the state’s economy last week. It is a measured and reasonable approach that gets some people back to work and tries to protect residents as much as possible.

Businesses will open in phases, with medical and health care providers, followed by manufacturing, distribution, construction and office work, and then retail on May 12. Dine-in restaurants, bars, daycares, barbershops and salons will remain closed for the foreseeable future. And the ban on large gatherings or events remains in effect.

... (T)he gradual roll out is prudent and gives the state time to monitor whether the reopening results in any sudden flare ups in COVID-19 cases. It also helps that the openings for businesses in phase one are separated by a matter of days not weeks.

DeWine’s plan also lays out strict cleaning and hygiene guidelines for each business, such as:

All employees must wear masks.

Daily self-evaluations of employees’ health.

Reducing occupancy to 50% of the fire marshal’s limit.

Regular cleaning of surfaces.

Maintaining at least six feet between workers.

DeWine had originally ordered that customers, too, had to wear masks when patronizing a business, but backed off that requirement after hearing from some constituents who found the mandate “offensive.” In changing it to a recommendation, the governor is placing his trust in Ohioans to keep doing the right thing.

It shouldn’t take a government mandate for us to do the right thing and protect one another . ...

Plans to ramp up COVID-19 testing to more than 22,000 tests per day by the end of May are imperative and encouraging, as is the plan to have 1,750 trained workers by June 1 conducting contact tracing of positive cases of the virus. DeWine has to keep the pressure on the federal government to provide more assistance in delivering personal protective equipment to our hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities. Ohio must be prepared to protect our medical professionals and first responders in the event reopening businesses sparks a second wave of infections.

While a few more weeks of Ohio trending down in the number of cases would have been ideal, DeWine can be commended for piecing together a competent compromise. He has let science and data guide him and has listened to a wide array of opinions from health experts to business professionals to everyday citizens. There will be critics who say DeWine shouldn’t have opened nonessential businesses at all, and those who say he didn’t open enough . ...

DeWine is right that no matter what decision he made there was going to be risk. There is risk in doing nothing. There is still risk even if Ohio does this reopening right. It is indeed a scary process, especially for members of more vulnerable populations . ...

DeWine should keep pushing ahead and be more aggressive if infection rates hold steady or decline. He is trusting each of us to use common sense and make rational decisions as we reconnect. Let’s not make him regret that choice.

Read the full editorial from the Cincinnati Enquirer at bit. ly/3b4IQKj