SOCA: A Thank You From Governor Dewine

December 18, 2020

Keeping you abreast of the latest information and topics from SOCA, our Benefits Partners, Local , State and National Affiliates.

A Thank You Message from Governor Mike DeWine to Chambers of Commerce
(please click on image of the governor to view)

NEW SATELLITE HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVICE WILL CONNECT UNDERSERVED HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES IN CENTRAL OHIO

COLUMBUS - Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that Allen Township, outside of Marysville, Ohio will be the site of a pilot project, with the Starlink satellite broadband service developed by SpaceX, to connect select households and small businesses with high speed internet access. The pilot is part of the DeWine-Husted Administration’s commitment to bringing high speed internet access to Ohioans across the state.

The pilot will test the delivery of Starlink’s space-based high speed internet to 90 households and about 10 small businesses. All of the participants are underserved by broadband. It marks the largest Starlink pilot in the Midwest and it was made possible through the partnership of BroadbandOhio, the City of Marysville, economic leaders in Union County, and JobsOhio, the state’s private nonprofit economic development corporation.

“This past year has shown that now more than ever, access to high speed internet is an essential element for participating in the modern economy, education and healthcare systems,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted. “Too many Ohioans have unreliable broadband, or no connection at all, and Governor DeWine and I are committed to finding solutions to this challenge. In the past few months we have actively pursued a demonstration project with Starlink to determine if this new technology strategy can lead to high speed internet accessibility for everyone in our state. We will continue to work with the private sector and our partners in the legislature, and in coordination with those on the federal level, to tackle this issue.”

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COVID-19 Update: Vaccines, New Advisory System Map
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

OHIO PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY SYSTEM
New health data compiled by the Ohio Department of Health shows sustained severe exposure and spread (Purple Level 4) in Richland County. Medina, Portage, Stark, and Summit counties all moved from Purple Level 4 to Red Level 3 this week. Governor DeWine cautioned that a decrease from Level 4 to Level 3 does not indicate that the situation in these counties is improving, but rather that healthcare indicators, such as hospitalizations, are plateauing at a very critical level.

"Red and purple are not all that different," said Governor DeWine. "They both mean that a county has a very high level of cases and a very high level of COVID activity in the healthcare system. Purple simply indicates counties where things are worsening noticeably, but red counties are also at very worrisome and unsustainable levels."

A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19 in all of Ohio's 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System's website.

When seeking to determine the level of risk in each county, Governor DeWine encouraged Ohioans to look more closely at the chart below which shows the number of positive cases per 1,000 residents. All 88 counties have a level of spread that is at least three times more than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers high incidence. The top 20 counties show rates of nine to 13 times the high-incidence level.

VACCINE UPDATE
Tomorrow, as part of the federal program to vaccinate nursing home residents and staff, facilities in Ohio will be among the first in the nation to receive vaccines through Walgreen’s, CVS, PharmScript, and Absolute Pharmacy. Ohio was invited by the CDC to participate in the scaling up of the federal program.

CURRENT CASE DATA
In total, there are 596,178 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 7,894 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 33,745 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 5,382 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.

Video of full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel's YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

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