Home

Coronavirus: Trump announces withdrawal from WHO; What you need to know Friday

President Trump announced Friday that the United States would withdraw its funding from the World Health Organization, end Hong Kong’s special trade status, and suspend visas of Chinese graduate students suspected of conducting research on behalf of their government.

Trump has been expressing anger at the World Health Organization for weeks over what he has portrayed as an inadequate response to the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China’s Wuhan province late last year, the AP reports.

Gov. Mike DeWine introduced several initiatives Thursday in the continuation of expanding testing as part of RestartOhio, the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Pharmacists will be allowed to offer COVID-19 tests based on guidelines issued by the state pharmacy board. A map of participating pharmacies will be available via coronavirus.ohio.gov.
  • Who can be tested has been expanded to include a fourth group -- any individual in a community who is showing symptoms. There are three already established groups: hospital and front line workers, people at high risk (including those over 65 and those with underlying medical conditions) and those requiring surgical procedures that do no require a hospital stay.
  • DeWine said he has spoken with mayors throughout Ohio and he wants the state to begin working with the EPA to test sewage for levels of the COVID-19 virus in communities.
  • Beginning June 8, outdoor visits will be allowed with residents in intermediate care facilities for those with developmental disabilities and residents in assisted living facilities. The visitation police for nursing homes has not changed, he said.

Other things you should know today, Friday:

  • On May 31, daycare facilities and summer day camps will be allowed to reopen
  • On June 1, banquet centers and catering businesses, both of which serve events such as wedding receptions, will be allowed to reopen with crowd size limited to 300 people. Here are the guidelines for that business sector to reopen.

>>RELATED: Catering, banquet centers can reopen June 1

>>RELATED: DeWine unveils new tools to combat case disparity in minority communities

  • The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, for the second time, will allow businesses to defer payments of premiums into the system, DeWine said.
  • DeWine said he has a task force looking at creating partnerships between local fair boards and county health departments for Junior Fairs. The purpose is to allow young people to show their animals as well as other projects -- photography, sewing, baking, etc. Safety guidelines for Junior Fairs were released Thursday. He also said the state Agriculture Department will release money to all 94 county and independent junior fairs.
  • Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said the Office of Workforce Transformation is being modified to include those left unemployed because of COVID-19. The office works with people to enhance their skill levels to meet the technical skills called for in many industries today. He said 150 companies will receive $1.2 million in funding for the modified program to help 1,045 Ohioans earn technical credentials. The criteria for tech credentials are the following -- the program must be for the short term, focused on technical skills and industry recognized.
  • REOPENING ZOOS, MUSEUMS, ETC.: DeWine said next week, he will discuss reopening dates and guidelines for zoos, museums, amusement parks and other still shut down entertainment venues.

The governor said his next expected briefing with reporters will be Tuesday, June 2.

Other things you need to know today:

LATEST STATE DATA: As of Friday afternoon, there are 34,566 cases in the state, 2,131 deaths, and 5,947 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.

Of the state’s positive cases, 19.5% are from Ohio’s prisons. At those prisons, there has been an increase in testing.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

There have been 347,477 people tested for coronavirus in Ohio. In the state, 5,067 cases are health care workers, which is 15 percent of the cases.

It is important to note the number of confirmed cases is not a true reflection of actual cases in the state because of the limited amount of testing available. The hope is that the number of cases will be more accurate because of the expansion of the testing standards.

0
Comments on this article