Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday the mask mandate and other COVID-19 health orders will be lifted in Ohio starting June 2. Credit: Courtesy of TNS
Ohio’s mask mandate and other COVID-19 health orders will be a thing of the past June 2, Gov. Mike DeWine said in a press conference Wednesday.
Mandates will be lifted everywhere except in nursing homes and other assisted living facilities as a response to the decline in statewide COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. DeWine said the June 2 cutoff allows kids aged 12-15, who recently became eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, to be vaccinated before restrictions are lifted.
“This time will give anyone, anyone who has not been vaccinated the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and be well on the way to full immunity for themselves,” DeWine said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech for kids aged 12-15 Wednesday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the age group to receive it Monday. DeWine said the decline in COVID-19 cases over the last four weeks prompted the decision. He said schools and businesses will be able to set their own regulations for masks and social distancing.
“Lifting these orders does not mean the virus is gone. It does not mean we’re all safe. Each Ohio citizen will make their own decision about wearing a mask, social distancing, how to protect themselves and when, for them, those actions are appropriate,” DeWine said.
Ohio’s last 21-day reported case average is 1,371, according to the Ohio Department of Health dashboard. There were a daily average of 114 hospitalizations with 13 ICU admissions and 19 deaths since April 21.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, approximately 41.87 percent of the state has been vaccinated. In addition to the decrease in COVID-19 cases, the vaccination rate has decreased by almost 94 percent from 107,655 shots distributed March 31 to 6,575 distributed Tuesday.
The Wexner Medical Center began vaccine distribution to frontline workers in December 2020. The Jerome Schottenstein Center became a mass vaccination site for patients over 80 years old Jan. 19.
DeWine previously said he would not lift health orders until fewer than 0.05 percent of the population had been infected for two weeks.
