We were recently made aware that approx. 59,000 Ohioans who requested a voter registration form through Ohio Benefits did not immediately receive the form due to a system error.
A review found that 18,900 requestors were already registered to vote, 7,500 received the forms through other Ohio Benefits transactions, and 32,400 had not received a form at the time of the review.
On 9/14, @OhioDAS sent voter registration forms to all 59,000 individuals - thus remedying the situation well ahead of the deadline to register to vote for the fall election. In fact, today is #NationalVoterRegistrationDay. To register, visit VoteOhio.gov.
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Today, @OhioChildHosp is making a direct appeal to school superintendents, asking all schools in Ohio to require masks for staff and students during this very dangerous surge of #COVID19.
We all share the goal of keeping our kids in school. Reasonable people may disagree about a lot, but we can all agree that we must keep our children in the classroom so they don’t fall behind and so their parents can go to work and not take time off to watch their kids at home.
We must also keep our kids in school so we don’t exacerbate the behavioral health challenges kids face by not being in the classroom with other kids.
We are clearly well past the time when the state can mandate to parents and school districts what actions to take. These decisions today rest with the parents and school officials.
I'm speaking directly to every parent, school official, and school board member in Ohio: The best way to make sure a child can stay in school is for that child to be vaccinated. If a child can't be vaccinated, the best way to ensure a good year is for that child to wear a mask.
With the delta variant producing so many cases today, it will be very difficult to keep it out of the classroom. And, it will be impossible once it's in the classroom to keep it from spreading unless the students wear masks or are vaccinated.
Today in Ohio, we are facing a perfect storm. Just as our kids are back to school, the new delta variant is sweeping across our state taking direct aim at all of those who are not vaccinated.
The spread of the delta variant has dramatically accelerated since we last held a public briefing 10 days ago. We are at the highest number of new cases since February. Today we're reporting 3,235 cases.
On July 7, our cases were at 17 cases statewide per 100,000 people for a two-week period. Today, that number is 236 per 100,000 people. Every county in the state is considered a high incidence county.
My fellow Ohioans, you got us to where we are today.
You sacrificed. You persevered. And many times, you have set the bar for the rest of the nation. Let’s show America again what Ohio is made of!
Let’s show the nation that same grit and determination in our efforts to get the rest of Ohio vaccinated! Yes -- we have achieved a lot. We are safer today. And the future of Ohio has never been brighter because of your efforts in fighting this pandemic.
But, our work is not done. We now have an abundance of the vaccine and must continue every effort to make it available and accessible to every Ohioan who wants it.
Two weeks from tonight on May 26th, we will announce a winner of a separate drawing for adults who have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. This announcement will occur each Wednesday for five weeks, and the winner each Wednesday will receive one million dollars.
The pool of names for the drawing will be derived from the Ohio Secretary of State’s publicly available voter registration database. Further, we will make available a webpage for people to sign up for the drawings if they are not in a database we are using.
The Ohio Department of Health will be the sponsoring agency for the drawings, and the Ohio Lottery will conduct them. The money will come from existing federal Coronavirus Relief Funds.
➡@OHDeptofHealth will remove all pandemic health orders, except those for nursing homes & assisted living facilities, on June 2. This will give anyone not vaccinated time to get the one-shot J&J vaccine or the first dose of Pfizer/Moderna and be well on the way to immunity.
Now, lifting these orders does not mean the virus is gone. It does not mean we are all safe. Each Ohio citizen will make their own decisions about wearing a mask and social distancing -- and when, for them, that’s appropriate.
Ohio businesses and schools, as well, will make their own decisions about how to best keep their customers, employees, and students safe. Lifting these health orders will not prevent a business from imposing its own requirements.