I did not vote for Mike DeWine, but I am grateful for his leadership right now. He is taking this seriously, and explaining how we all need to work together to flatten the curve.
He’s handed the podium over to a doctor, who has said that they have many tests being performed; that they expect these results to confirm what they suspect: there is community spread.
They are saying: TAKE ACTION NOW. Explaining the curve again.
There is no scenario where there is no curve. The question is how big the curve is.
DeWine: We are now in a period of danger. We’ll have to make difficult decisions. We have to learn from others. We have to listen to experts. Now is the time to take action.
DeWine: experts have told us we should not be having large gatherings of people in closed spaces.
DeWine: I have told my family not to fly.
DeWine: we can’t hide this, we can’t shove it under the rug, we can’t ignore it.
Dr. Amy: calmly explaining and taking seriously what they are doing with tests, surveillance.
Dr. Amy: I think it’s safe to say that we have community spread.
DeWine: asking every state govt department to examine who can work from home and have them work from home. The better decisions we make now, the fewer people die.
DeWine: the economy is not the most important thing; people’s lives are the most important thing. (Comments also that handling this correctly will mean our economy suffers less in the long term)
Dr. Amy: by the end of this week, it will seem like a different world than it is now. We have to make the decision to lean in.
Dr. Amy: our lives will be disrupted. The measures we’re taking now will make sure our hospitals have the bandwidth to deal with this. We’re going to see drive-through testing, tents, entire wards for coronavirus.
Dr. Amy: we’re going to see some M.A.S.H-like creative solutions.
Pausing here to say that this press conference is balm for my soul and exactly what this entire country needed 2 weeks ago.
Dr. Amy: Ohio has been going through drills and tests in prep for this.
DeWine: this is a time for us to come together. This is a time for the goodness of us to come out. We have a common problem; we’re all in this together. We’ve got to act like we’re all in this together. Ohioans will rally and do the right thing.
Dr. Amy: vulnerable groups will be more affected by this. We will need philanthropy, as well as caring for your neighbors. This is a daunting, once-in-my lifetime event.
DeWine: I don’t have the authority to cancel the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cleveland. The recommendation is to not have any parades.
DeWine: if possible, universities should go to remote learning.
My own note: these people are not f*cking around. I feel we are in good hands. Also, I love public servants so f*cking much I could cry.
Dr. Amy: two weeks ago, Italy had 9 cases. Today, it’s over 9000. Every single step we take now will make the difference.
DeWine: any gathering of people indoors of any size is not recommended.
Link again to watch press conference, if you wish:
wowktv.com/news/coronavir…
wowktv.com/news/coronavir…
