Ohio Governor has directed businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, construction and general office environments to open back up on Monday, May 4, 2020.

“But we’re going to require those who are opening – and those who already have been open – to follow strict guidelines on how to reopen,” said Governor Mike DeWine.

“General office environments can reopen in Ohio. However, we still want people to work from home as much as possible.”

According to him, “There are a lot of moving parts here. This is the beginning, but to continue to move forward – without falling back and having a huge spike in cases – there are a lot of things everyone can do to decrease the impact and get people back to work.”

While stressing the need to open up businesses, Governor DeWine said “my heart aches for the businessmen and women who have not been able to work, and who are looking at savings going down every day. For the employees who are unemployed. One cannot overstate the tragedy of this, so we have to get moving – but at the same time protect Ohioans.”

“I think the most important question is how we restart Ohio. Because if we do it right, we can provide as much protection as we can to our workers and everyone involved. The how is very important.”

Governor DeWine said “COVID19 is still here. It’s still as dangerous as it ever was. It is still among us. Many of the things you have done – you’ve slowed this process, but it’s still there.”

 “The essential tools to slow COVID19 down are the same, distancing, washing hands, cloth masks and sanitizing surfaces.”

“We will have to continue to do these as we move the economy forward,” he said.

On testing, Governor DeWine said there will be an increase of testing people for COVID19 in May with an estimation of 133,650 testing.

“Ohio is also going to ramp up ContactTracing in May. Now, there are 900 volunteers. We’re getting money to give to health department to hire more people because COVID19 will be here for a while. A group that will be able to surge in if there are hotspots.”