COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tuesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud endorsed two mandates – one related to sporting events and the other to mass gatherings.
Today, @OHdeptofhealth Director Stephanie McCloud signed two public health orders that both go into effect today.
Mass gatherings: https://t.co/s8UoOSOM5J
Sports and entertainment venues: https://t.co/wepwTCRDYTSummary of changes ⬇ pic.twitter.com/sqHJrxAyBN
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 2, 2021
Last week DeWine said attendance maximums at sporting events would be expanded to 25 percent of fixed seating capacity at indoor venues and 30 percent of capacity for outdoor.
An addendum, which can be found here, enacted the sporting event attendance adjustments and applied the maximum capacity limits apply to entertainment venues.
That addendum calls for indoor facilities “to employ filtration of MERV 13 or higher as soon as practicably possible.”
The second mandate (a first revised order to limit mass gatherings) stipulates that private and public mass gatherings of 10 or more people outside a “single residence and the real estate on which it is located” are still prohibited; a residence includes apartments, condos and dorms.
Additionally, weddings receptions, funeral repasts, proms, and other events are allowed as long as the gatherings “comply with the Director’s Order for Facial Coverings throughout the State of Ohio, signed July 23, 2020, the Director’s Third Amended Order that Reopens Restaurants, Bars, Banquet and Catering Facilities and Services to Dine-in Service, with Exceptions, signed September 23, 2020 and the Addendum to Director’s Third Amended Order that Reopens Restaurants, Bars, Banquet and Catering Facilities and Services to Dine-in Service, with Exceptions, signed February 11, 2021. Events at banquet centers no longer have a 300 person limitation, so long as they comply with the Orders identified in this section.”
Both orders have no end date and are “in full force and effect until the Director of the Ohio Department of Health rescinds or modifies.”
DeWine made the announcement on the same day Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) lifted all remaining COVID mandates – including the statewide mask order and business restrictions.
Abbot said COVID hasn’t vanished “[b]ut it is clear from the recoveries, the vaccinations, the reduced hospitalizations and the safe practices that Texans are using, that state mandates are no longer needed.”
I just announced Texas is OPEN 100%.
EVERYTHING.
I also ended the statewide mask mandate.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 2, 2021
ODH was contacted and asked why the mandates don’t contain an end date but a response was not returned before press time.
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Jack Windsor is Statehouse Reporter at The Ohio Star. Windsor is also an independent investigative reporter. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
