COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the Ohio Department of Health will amend its health orders to reflect the latest recommendations by the Center for Disease Control. Most notably, masks will still be recommended in areas with large amounts of people.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Mike DeWine said schools and daycare centers are asked to continue wearing masks until June 2
- Businesses may ask employees and customers to wear masks
- The Ohio Vax-A-Million drawings will be an opt-in event
During his press conference Tuesday, DeWine also gave more information on the Ohio Vax-A-Million, the lottery program incentivizing Ohioans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
DeWine said the newest amendment to the state’s health orders puts an emphasis on mask wearing and social distancing in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and settings with large numbers of unvaccinated people such as schools and daycare centers.
The CDC said businesses may decide whether to require masks, though DeWine said a business likely has no way to check who is vaccinated.
“If a business chooses to require masking for the employees and customers, that is permitted under the CDC guidance and it is permitted under our order,” said DeWine.
Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud also announced one major change to the Ohio-Vax-A-Million drawings.
“This will be an opt-in program only,” said McCloud.
That goes for anyone 18-years-old and older who will be eligible for the five different $1 million lottery drawings and the 12-17-year-olds who will be eligible for the five college scholarships to any public Ohio university.
“I don’t know for $5 million or for the amount of these scholarships that this would be something that we could’ve spent in other ways to get this much interest, attention, uptick,” McCloud said.
McCloud said the website for opting in will go live Tuesday morning. Anyone without internet access may call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
The first drawing is next Monday and the winner will be announced the following Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
To be eligible, people must have gotten at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine and be registered by the Sunday before the drawing in order to win.
