Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced a new curfew as the state faces a COVID-19 surge. The curfew will run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for three weeks starting Thursday.
“We believe this will help reduce #COVID19 spread,” DeWine tweeted.
The curfew doesn’t apply to people going to work or getting groceries or food, and it’s not intended to stop people from going to a hospital, DeWine said Tuesday at a press conference, urging “common sense” around the curfew.
He also asked every Ohioan to do at least one thing every day that reduces their contact with others.
DeWine spoke after a record of over 8,000 cases were reported in a single day last week. Hospitalizations are also at record levels, CBS affiliate WKRC reports. The governor announced new restrictions Monday that ban dancing and other activities in open areas at weddings, funeral repasts, and other events, reports CBS affiliate WOIO. The order went into effect just after midnight on Tuesday.
DeWine focused the order on private gatherings, not restaurants or bars.
“Despite the health order that limited mass gatherings to 10 people that was signed in April remaining in effect, we have seen rampant spread of the virus as a result of banquets, wedding receptions, and social gatherings following funerals,” DeWine said. “We have seen great tragedy associated with such events. It’s not the ceremonies causing the problem. It’s the party afterward.”