DeWine announces plans for more business openings, expects COVID-19 cases to increase

As Ohio reopens businesses, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that coronavirus cases will increase (Source: “Gov. Mike DeWine on reopening Ohio: Coronavirus cases will increase,” Cleveland.com, May 7, 2020).

“As we open up the economy, let me just state the obvious,” DeWine said at his Thursday statehouse news briefing in which he announced plans to open restaurants, hair salons and other business in the coming weeks. “The risk is up. The more contacts we have, the more that we do, the more risk there is.”

Currently, the transmission rate between people is one-to-one. Someone with coronavirus will likely give it to one other person. As businesses open, DeWine said, the rate will increase.

“This is a gamble," DeWine said. "This is a new part of the journey. We are on a road that’s never been traveled before, certainly never been traveled before in Ohio. It is a road that has danger signs on it. And we need to fully understand that. And what is the danger? The danger is that we relax. The danger is that we pull back. The danger is that we say, ‘OK, well things are better. We don’t have to do this.’”