Lorain County communities, chamber of commerce look ahead to reopening

Lorain County businesses will get a boost now that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced restaurants, salons and spas can reopen beginning May 15.

On May 15, outdoor dining along with salons, barbershops and spas can restart their in-person operations.

Indoor dining is set to begin May 21.

Cities and industry groups say they are cautiously optimistic about the move and excited for local businesses that will get some much needed relief.

“This is enormous news for the Avon Lake economy,” said Ted Esborn, Avon Lake’s economic development director.

“The businesses covered in the announcement now have what many have wanted most — a timeline, an answer to the question, ‘When and how can we reopen?’

“From what I have heard from these businesses now, this begins a period of breakneck planning. Today, they begin figuring out how they will meet, not only the distancing guidelines, but also the cleaning and sanitizing guidelines. But the sense I get is that they are happy to face these challenges; it is better than where they were before.”

Avon Economic Development Coordinator Pam Fechter concurred.

“I would say we are just as excited and optimistic as we are cautious,” Fechter said.

“We cannot thank enough those essential businesses that have remained open and look forward to the remaining businesses in Avon getting back on track and begin thriving again.”

Tony Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, expressed excitement and noted they would continue to provide support and guidance to Lorain County businesses as the state moves into this next phase.

“Obviously, the County Chamber is excited for our local entrepreneurs to be able to restart their businesses in a safe way,” Gallo said. “We know that PPE (personal protection equipment) and cleaning products availability will become an even bigger issue as this begins to happen.”

The County Chamber produced a guide to help local businesses with information about how to keep employees and customers safe as well as signage that they may find useful.

Gallo said the chamber provided some links to hand sanitizer purchases that are made in Ohio to assist in sourcing necessary products.

“When we awarded the Lorain County COVID-19 Small Business Grants and gave out $85,000 to our

Lorain County businesses, the good majority of those who applied and received the grants were restaurants and beauty salons,” he said. “They are in desperate need to reopen and begin rebuilding their businesses.

“I just want to urge everyone to keep social distancing protocol in mind when we start to frequent these businesses.”

The re-opening dates come after state officials consulted with advisory boards with members from both industries, submitting suggestions on best practices.

The risks

DeWine said the decision to reopen parts of the economy will bring Ohio into unchartered waters and acknowledged that it is a risk that likely will cause the state’s present one-to-one ratio (infected person to number of people infected) to rise.

“This is a gamble,” he said. “This is a new part of the journey. We are on a road that’s never been traveled before.

“It’s a road that has danger signs on it and we need to fully understand it.”

The governor said at the beginning of the crisis, the ratio was more than twoto-one, attributing the reduction to social distancing and other measures taken to reduce community spread.

In mitigating the potential impact of reopening DeWine, said the state will continue to abide by industry best practices and hopes to continue to ramp up testing and tracing.

The state’s restaurant advisory board chaired by Treva Weaver issued a number of recommendations.

Restaurant owners are being asked to put together a floor plan to enable customers to abide by social distancing guidelines, post COVID-19 symptoms at entrances and asking businesses to self-monitor staff.

The recommendations did not make distinctions between bars and restaurants with Weaver stating the board was focused on the physical space.

For salons, barbershops and spas, customers with appointments may be asked to remain in their vehicles while waiting to be seen, and establishments will remove self-serve beverages and reading material.

Professionals will wear face coverings and customers also will be asked to wear masks.

County COVID 19 cases

As of 2 p.m., May 7, Lorain County had 478 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 41 deaths, according to Lorain County Public Health.

The numbers also cite an additional 58 cases as probable, for a total of 536 cases.