Athletes, parents, coaches, and fans from around Ohio have been waiting for weeks for Gov. Mike DeWine's announcement on fall sports.
Last week, the governor said, "We've been working with the Ohio High School Athletic Association to get it right, to provide guidelines to make it as safe as possible."
Today, DeWine said, "Sports matter, sports make a difference," as he announced that fall sports might go forward this fall, removing the emergency order by the Ohio Department of Health, which prohibited school-versus-school competition.
DeWine said during his Tuesday, Aug. 18 press conference, the order on fall sports included all athletes, and the goal was to focus on the student and the school by empowering students, parents to make tough calls. When asked why he didn't allow for a normal season for the athletes, the governor said the concern is the spreading of the virus to older family members.
The governor said the complete guidelines would be released Wednesday, but wasn't completely done, but offered up some of the highlights.
DeWine said that is is up to the school districts to determine who should be allowed in to watch the sporting event.
The governor asked Dr. Jim Borchers, a specialist in sports medicine at The Ohio State University at the Wexner Medical Center, who discussed the effect of COVID-19 on athletes.
The doctor said that athletes who test positive for the virus should meet with a healthcare provider and receive a complete physical and need to watch for heart and lung issues. Dr. Borchers said all individuals and parents need to look at their situations, including the spread rate of the virus within their community, and make an educated decision of the risk.
The governor said if "this goes the wrong way, we will shut it all down," when asked if it is safe for high schools when the Big 10 shut down its season earlier this month for safety reasons.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted joined the conference remotely saying one of the benefits of proceeding with sports is that athletes, coaches, and families have an additional incentive to make sure that off the playing field they are doing things right as it relates to wearing masks, social distancing and stopping the spread of the virus.
The press conference experienced technical difficulties about 38 minutes into the broadcast, as the governor was talking about fall sports and how important it is to proceed with safety in mind for the athletes.
The governor opened up the press conference discussing that Tuesday, Aug. 18, is the 100th anniversary of the end of Woman's Suffrage, with women allowed to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment.
His wife, Fran, joined the conference to discuss Imagination, Ohio, an early literacy program – which is now available in nearly every county in the state.
After one year, the program has more than doubled enrollment, with nearly 191,000 children are getting an Imagination Ohio book by mail.
The governor also said that an employee at the Ohio Veteran's Home in Georgetown has tested positive for COVID-19.
The governor showed that while the numbers are declining in the state, the hospitalization and ICU admissions have not declined. The hospitalization in the state had 117 cases since Monday, with 12,436 cases.
The state has 109,923 cases, with 861 additional cases in the last 24 hours, with 3,871 deaths and 39 deaths overnight.
When asked about the post office and the upcoming election, Husted said that all ballots that are mailed by the deadline would be counted, saying that mail-in voting has worked and will work in the state.
