158,678 Ohioans filed for unemployment this week - bringing the four-week total to 855,197 and driving the jobless rate for Marchup by a third to 5.5%, from 4.1%. And now Gov. Mike DeWine is laying out more details of what is expected to be a slow and methodical reopening of businesses in Ohio.
DeWine says a big component is making sure companies can ensure a safe workplace.
DeWine says more details are coming soon as to how Ohio will begin got reopen businesses, but he continues to urge companies that things will not completely go back to normal.
He says businesses should make plans for employees to wear masks, to create physical distance among co-workers, and to frequently sanitize surfaces.
"No company is going to be able to attract employees if they don't think it's safe for them to work there. Employees are going to have to think it's safe every day. The same is true for customers. You're not going to go to a place as a consumer a retail place if you think that you're not safe there," says DeWine.
To those who are worried, DeWine says he’ll approach this with the same respect for human life that he’s had since the beginning of the pandemic.
In-person education for K-12 schools is set to resume in Ohio on May 1 but DeWine says he's planning on making an announcement about schools next week. Without giving any more specifics on that announcement DeWine addressed the potential for concerns and fears among parents worried about sending their kids back to school.
"My message to them is, Fran and I have eight children, we have 24 grandchildren, we get it, we understand," DeWine says.
