Today I spent the afternoon catching up with the news briefing that Gov. DeWine, Dr. Amy Acton, and Lt. Gov. John Hustead gave yesterday. The governor began by addressing public inquiry about the reopening of schools this upcoming fall, prefacing one again that everything is a "best guess" right now since it is hard to predict the exact path of this virus especially now mixed with so much social congregating in the wake of George Floyd's death. He said that he has been working with school officials and the Department of Education regarding the opening of schools in the fall and what health guidelines for schools might look like.
"We fully intend to have kids back in the classroom in the fall."
That said, local school boards will be the ones to decide on the date when school resumes and will vary district to district. This will be true unless something unforeseen happens between now and then with the projection or COVID-19 cases in Ohio. The goal is to provide broad health guidelines to school superintendents and officials while recognizing that Ohio has over 600 school districts, each with very different needs.
On a separate topic, the governor also spoke about medical procedures. All surgeries that had previously been delayed are now allowed to resume by order of the governor. Hospitals must conserve PPE and have healthy supply chain to access these materials so telehealth whenever possible is still encouraged. There also must be adequate testing for patients having non-COVID related surgeries to protect both healthcare workers and other patients.
Highway patrol has asked for help in supporting local police forces "Service and Respect."
Many of the protests have occurred at the Ohio Statehouse and a Highway Patrol Colonel spoke about how the highway patrol has helped police, citing that he himself is African American and is appreciative of the efforts being put forth by citizens expressing their first ammendment right, and also the responsibility of the police force to keep their precincts safe. He stated that the "goal is to provide a safe environment for people to exercise their first amendment rights. [The police and highway patrol] work with these communities on a regular basis."
Highway Patrol is promoting positive engagement with police and communities and providing assistance to local precincts in their response to protestors in a few ways.
First, Ohio Highway patrol is easing burdens on commerce in various municipalities and helping people get to destinations by patrolling busy interstates and streets. "These are your neighbors and co-workers who have civilian jobs and families. One woman who has a two-year-old and a one-year-old child at home was sent to assist in the prisons and then after finishing a quarantine, went immediately to help with the protestors when she was called back into service the day after her quarantine ended."
Governor DeWine expresses appreciation for the work done by the highway patrol and the local precincts. DeWine encouraged people to express outrage and demand an end the systemic racism that he sees choking the state of Ohio. He added that violent protests are drowning out the voices of reason. Mayors have reported that the majority of protestors are peaceful but that some acts of violence and vandalism have made the news over the protests.
The Ohio National guard was called to assist police forces in both Columbus and Cleveland as protests turned to riots and riots began turning violent. Ohio sent 100 national guard members to Washington DC to support the Secretary of Defense (now these forces have been pulled against Trump’s order) when called upon. At the directive of the governor, the guard also deployed forces to both Columbus and Cleveland to keep the peace, but allow protests to continue. The main idea Gov. DeWine conveyed was that it is good to support the mayors and chiefs of those cities with major protests and not to take over. Their job is to assist local law enforcement and protect people and property and restore order to these cities only if that is necessary.
These people are heroes and are answering the call of duty in difficult, unprecedented times.
They are doing crowd control and traffic control and taking directions from local law enforcement.
Gov. Dewine stressed the importance of graduated response, using minimal force necessary to complete the mission. Law enforcement is being advised to use a wide assortment of non -lethal methods to complete their mission. They will protect a protestor, a rioter, and a police officer in one go. Everyone gets treated with dignity and respect. Period.
Gov. DeWine expressed his pride in the service of the national guard in all aspects of their mission. They were directed to protect Ohio’s most vulnerable populations including in prisons and nursing homes (over 960 nursing homes throughout Ohio). They are testing as many staff and select residents as possible to assist the care team in managing disease inside of nursing homes. In fact, over 500 out of 2000 soldiers are currently working at food banks in a diversity of roles.
The governor did a great job discussing this issue from both sides of the table. He restated that "everyone, no matter where they were born, or who their parents are, deserves a chance to succeed and be secure in their future." He emphasized the need to protect the most vulnerable citizens among our population saying that too many Ohioans are living in the shadows of opportunity and on the margins of society, and it is not new.
There is racism in Ohio and there is inequity in Ohio. There is racism in the country and there is inequity across the country.
“We will not have justice in this country until the unaffected are as outraged as the affected” -Benjamin Franklin
Gov. DeWine said that “the coronavirus has laid bare our vulnerabilities, our fears, our uncertainty and our disparities.” He felt that "this is about race but it is also about ethnic disparities, educational inequality, poverty, the marginalized, and lack of opportunity, or marginalized persons with disabilities." The divisions of race have plagued this country since its inception. While there are no simple solutions, we all are obligated to be a positive voice for change now. We need equality across the board: in health, education, and the economy for all citizens.
The governor will be reaching out to state legislatures and members of the general assembly to work on these issues in the coming weeks, and for a long time, on several issues. A few that he identified as being at the forefront of his agenda are: dealing with lead paint that is poisoning children, reducing infant and maternal mortality among African American community and other peoples of color, increasing home visits for first time mothers of color,
reducing the effect of drugs on these populations, training officers on implicit bias and deescalation techniques ( so important!), and improving access to mental health care and training police departments in how to approach the mentally ill.
While the vast majority of officers do a wonderful job, we need to be more supportive and
target those who are unfit to serve as police officers and enact reforms across the board to the criminal justice system. He specifically mentioned preventing troubled officers from moving around from precinct to precinct and avoiding disciplinary action.
“How do you tear hatred and suspicion out of the heart of a man? No statutory law can completely end discrimination. INtelligent work and vigilance from all races will be required for many years before discrimination completely disappears.”
It is dangerous when we let words become our weapons. Let actions speak louder than words. Those who have the ability to change things directly must take the opportunity to do that. This is a moment in history and it is our time to act. Dewine is planning to make this a team effort and consult with many others as the government outlines its policies against racism
Turning the conference over to Dr. Acton we learned that there are:
36,350 cases total in the state of Ohio (366 more cases than yesterday)
2,258 deaths in Ohio (52 more than yesterday)
Over 407,000 tests have been administered in the state (two have been mine)
Dr. Acton discussed how people of color are being affected disproportionately by the coronavirus. She said that we are still in a plateau and even as Ohio reopens the curve remains flat, which is highly encouraging. She mentioned that science still does not have all the answers and the knowledge is evolving daily.
At this point, the discussion has shifted to what the best indicators are for monitoring as we "learn to live" with this virus. Acton is taking us back to the very beginning of this once in a hundred year pandemic. She acknowledged that this has disrupted life in every conceivable way for most people. Everything we have built is cracking under the strain of this pandemic.
There are 11.7 million patients in Ohio and all of them have been affected in one way or another. People have had to take on a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity with no warning.
With tears in her eyes and a quavering, but determined voice, she said said, "If you are anything like me, you can curl up under your cape for a day, no matter who you are, it's okay." She encouraged people to reach out to each other for help from support systems already in place, as well as hotline and state resources. For example, 741741...text for hope,
"Be vulnerable with each other and don’t expect black and white answers." -Dr. Amy Acton
She reiterated that we have lots of unfinished business and it is unacceptable that your zip code can predict how long you will live. SHe also looked directly into the camera as she said, "it will take every ounce of courage in the times to come to take action and address the fact that RACISM IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE."
The disabled, POC, and the elderly are so often left behind-anyone who is compromised is seen as lesser. And sometimes the lesser are seen as compromised. She praised the idea of
conscious capitalism: no matter where we are, we have got to join together to protect the most vulnerable members of society.
Use your voice.
Listen to one another.
Do not hurt each other.
We cannot see the other person as an "other"...we have too much in common.
When we think of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbury, and the countless others, she said that we must acknowledge their humanity and suffering as people and as black members of the human race who are dying at the hands of a prejudiced justice system.
Children are writing to Dr. Acton about wearing their capes and masks. She shakily held up drawing after drawing and letters from children who watch the briefings and have had dialogue with adults about the multiple crises facing us right now. Her main takeaway?
Our children are watching us right now.
We are their parents, guardians, and protectors...and we are scared and overwhelmed right now. That is a really hard place to be, but in order to make a better world for all, and especially marginalized group, especially POC, we must sit in in the hard places together. Dr Acton encouraged all protestors to demonstrate to make room for black voices to be heard, and to protest as safely as possible so there is no unnecessary loss of human life-to violence, to the virus, to any of it.
We are Ohio Strong and we will get through this together.
Prepare, don't panic, friends.
-Allison
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