Mike DeWine Daily COVID-19 Press Conference
Governor Mike DeWine held his daily press conference about the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The briefing came with some of the most significant news of the pandemic so far, as DeWine announced $775 million in budget cuts, to be made over the next two months. The cuts come after DeWine said the state went from having $200 million more in state revenue than projected in February to having to make these cuts, which shows just how much the coronavirus has impacted Ohio’s economy.
- $210 million from Medicaid spending
- $300 million from K-12 spending
- $55 million from other education related budget items
- $110 million from higher education funding
- $100 million from other government agencies.
DeWine said every agency will have cuts made except the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, which manages the state prison system. The cuts take effect immediately, and DeWine said he hopes making cuts now will mean less drastic cuts will be made in 2021 or 2022.
He also said the money will not come out of the state rainy day fund because he knows they will likely have to use some of that fund later this year. Using the rainy day fund as a metaphor, DeWine said the virus is not a “light spring shower,” but will likely end up being similar to a severe rain storm.
Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted then said he has seen significant budget cuts in his political career like after 9/11 and during the 2008 recession. However, Husted said he has never seen a shift as severe as what Ohio’s budget has gone through of nearly $1 billion in two months.
Husted also said he believes Ohio is in as good a position as any state in the country to recover from this pandemic. He credited DeWine and Health Department director Dr. Amy Acton with their early response and action as the main reason why he is confident in Ohio’s response.
Dr. Acton gave the daily update of the state’s COVID-19 numbers:
- 20,969 cases, 495 in the last 24 hours, with cases in all 88 counties.
- 1,135 deaths, about 79 in the last 24 hours, and at least one death has occurred in 63 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
- 3,956 hospitalizations
“You’re helping me, I’m helping you, the things we are doing are helping each other,” Dr. Acton said regarding people following social distancing recommendations, staying home, and wearing masks when they have to go out.
DeWine was asked why Medicaid was cut so significantly while prisons did not have any budget cuts. He said prisons “are made up of people,” and no matter what someone has done to be in prison, they still deserve to be protected, and there weren’t many things that could be cut from prison expenses.
Lt. Gov. Husted said local health departments have a right to decide what businesses in their own county are essential, but he hopes they listen to the state’s recommendations. He said the state has a plan that they see as a path to reopening, and they depend on local officials to enforce that plan. Husted said opening certain businesses back up requires trusting the public and business owners to be done responsibly.
Dr. Acton said Ohio still needs to improve their testing capacity to reopen entirely in a safe manner. More testing can help identify outbreaks and contain them, which Acton said is essential if Ohio wants to reopen safely without having to revert back to staying at home again.
Finally, DeWine said the state will continue to advise schools on how to plan for fall semesters. The advice includes how the budget cuts will affect them, as well as possible plans like having some portions of the student body in school two days per week. He also said his office will continue to work with the state legislature on how to allocate the current budget cuts, as well as determine if any future cuts need to be made, which DeWine said he hopes to avoid but can’t predict exactly what will happen.