• 1 Ohio Prison guard dies

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has asked the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, BWC to give up to $1.6 billion to Ohio employers to help ease the economic impact of COVID-19 on Ohio’s economy and business community.

“The proposed amount equals 100% of the premium employers paid in policy year 2018.  As in previous years, the dividend is possible because of strong investment returns on employer premiums, a declining number of claims each year, and prudent fiscal management,” said Governor Mike DeWine.

“BWC provides workers’ compensation insurance to more than 248,000 private and public employers in Ohio. Should the proposed $1.6 billion dividend total be approved by BWC’s Board of Directors:

• An estimated $1.4 billion would go to private employers.
• Approximately $200 million would go to local government taxing districts (counties, cities, schools, etc.).

Governor DeWine disclosed that “a member of Ohio’s state-employee family, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Officer John Dawson, died after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 30.”

Officer Dawson, 55, of Mansfield, had been a corrections officer at the Marion Correctional Institution since 1996. He most recently worked in the control center handing out equipment to staff.

“Our hearts go out to John’s family, friends, and his co-workers,” said Governor DeWine.

“His death reminds us that, although Ohio is doing well compared to other states, we are still seeing a large number of deaths. These are all people who were loved, and our hearts go out to everyone who has lost a loved one to COVID-19.”

The Governor said the personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage in Ohio remains severe.

He pleaded with healthcare workers using N95 masks to send them to Battelle which can serialize up to 160,000 face masks each day, making them reusable up to 20 times.

“I want to make a public plea to everyone using these masks – every mask is precious, please don’t throw them away,” said Governor DeWine.

“We are trying to get more N95 masks in Ohio, but we still don’t have enough. When you throw a mask away you are depriving someone else of having a mask because we only have so many.”

Governor DeWine also thanked Apple and Apple CEO Tim Cook for recently donating 100,000 N95 masks to Ohio for frontline healthcare workers. The masks will be added to Ohio’s stockpile for distribution.

Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Dr. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, today thanked Ohioans who are staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and urged everyone to continue their efforts.

“The fear I have when we have silent victories is that people will start to say that COVID-19 was never there to begin with or that there was never a threat,” said Dr. Acton.

“Please know that this battle is still ongoing. We are blessed that we had early mitigation, but we need to stay there. There is no way out of this without what we’re doing together. Please continue to stay home.”

There are 5,148 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 193 deaths. A total of 1,495 people have been hospitalized, including 472 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.