News

Mar 24, 2020

Hello Summit County Businesses,

On March 22, 2020 the Director of the Ohio Department of Health issued a Director’s Order requiring all Ohioans to stay at home unless they are doing certain activities. All Ohioans should stay in their homes, unless they ared doing certain types of work considered “essential”. Note that work should be done from home whenever possible. Essential work includes:

• Healthcare and public health operations. This includes those who work in hospitals, clinics, dental offices, etc. and those businesses who research, develop or manufacture things necessary in medical care, like medical equipment or devices.
• Human service operations. This includes any work providing services to the public. This includes things like social services, day cares, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, etc.
• Essential infrastructure. This includes things like food production and distribution, construction, utilities maintenance, telecommunications, etc.
• Essential government functions. This includes first responders, emergency personnel, legislators, judges, jurors, military, etc.
• Work in stores that sell groceries and medicine, food, beverage and licensed medical marijuana production and agriculture.
• Charitable and social services, such as food banks, churches, and those who provide necessary services to the disadvantaged.
• Media and news organizations
• Gas stations and businesses needed for transportation
• Financial and insurance institutions, like banks.
• Hardware stores
• Critical trades like construction, plumbers, electricians, etc.
• Restaurants for carry-out and delivery.
• Laundry services like laundromats and dry cleaners.
• Mail, shipping and delivery services.
• Educational institutions.
• Businesses that produce or sell supplies needed for people to work from home.
• Transportation like airlines, taxis, Uber and Lyft.
• Home-based care and services, including meal delivery.
• Residential facilities for adults, seniors, children, pets etc.
• Professional services like legal, accounting, insurance and real-estate services.
• Manufacturing, distribution and supply chain for critical products and industries.
• Critical labor union functions.
• Hotels and motels
• Funeral services

Section 15 of the Director’s Stay at Home Order outlines Social Distancing Requirements of essential businesses:

For the purpose of this Order, Social Distancing Requirements includes maintaining at least six-foot social distancing from other individuals, washing hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds as frequently as possible or using hand sanitizer, covering coughs or sneezes (into sleeve or elbow, not hands), regularly cleaning high-touch surfaces, and not shaking hands.

Required measures

Essential Businesses and Operations and businesses engaged in minimum Basic Operations must take protective measures to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements, including where possible:

• Designate six-foot distances. Designating with signage, tape or by other means six-foot spacing for employees and customers in line to maintain appropriate distance
• Hand sanitizer and sanitizing products. Having hand sanitizer and sanitizing products readily available for employees and customers.
• Separate operating hours for vulnerable populations. Implementing separate operating hours for elderly and vulnerable customers; and
• Online remote access. Posting online whether a facility is open and how best to reach the facility and continue services by phone or remotely.

The order is meant to allow essential services to continue while keeping the most people possible in their homes. This will help slow the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible, and help keep Ohioans safe. All the Governors and the Ohio Department of Health orders are located at www.coronavirus.ohio.gov. They are listed on the webpage under Public Health Orders at the bottom.

Additional guidance may be found at the below link:

https://www.scph.org/efhc/resources

Questions can be directed to 330-926-5600.

Sincerely,

Donna Skoda, MS, RD, LD

Health Commissioner