Gov. Mike DeWine is facing criticism for his reversal on face masks, the state is no longer mandating customers wear face coverings when they go to stores. And while it's been downgraded to a recommendation, DeWine says he's confident people will wear masks.
DeWine says he's heard a lot of input from all sides on the issue of mandating masks for customers.
After the initial announcement, DeWine says there were people who called it government overreach. But after taking in all the input, DeWine says it was up to him to make the decision and he thought the mandate was a step too far.
"This was not an easy decision. We want people that can to wear, unless there's a reason they can't, we want them to wear the facial covering. In making these decisions, we don’t take a poll, we don't see how many people send an email to me, we don't see how many people call me," says DeWine.
The mandate is still in the order for employees at the workplace, with some exemptions in place.
DeWine says everyone should wear a mask or facial covering before they go out in public.
"It is really not a great inconvenience when I get out of my car to put that facial covering on and I'm convinced that as we move forward more and more Ohioans will do that," says DeWine.
The governor announced Wednesday that the state had delivered more than four million pieces of personal protective equipment to local EMAs in Ohio.
