Ward 3 Resident,
As our state and country continue to reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to first remind you all some basic preventative measures we all can do to stay safe and limit further spread of COVID-19:
- Social Distancing by staying at least 6 feet away from others in public.
- Wear a face covering or mask in public.
- Wash your hands for 20 seconds or more with soapy water several times a day, or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home while you are sick and avoid close contact with others.
Since my last update, Governor Mike DeWine has taken a number of measures to loosen the past restrictions that have been in place the last two months due to COVID-19 that I like to make you aware of and also some other COVID-19 local updates below too.
Have a great rest of the week!
Dan Langshaw
Ward 3 Councilman
North Royalton City Council
COVID-19 Stay at Home Order has been rescinded and replaced with Ohioans Protecting Ohioans Urgent Health Advisory on May 20, 2020. Here are the specific updates:
The new “Ohioans Protecting Ohioans Urgent Health Advisory” was issued yesterday May 20, 2020 that now replaces the Stay Safe Ohio order issued by the Ohio Department of Health on April 30, 2020. The health order replaces language requiring Ohioans to stay at home with limited exceptions with language that strongly recommends that citizens, especially those who are high-risk, stay at home as much as possible. The order does not change the mass gather-ing restrictions, which remain at a 10-person limit. The new health advisory also lifts overall travel restrictions and the requirement to quarantine if someone travels to or returns to Ohio. Unnecessary travel within or outside of Ohio is not encouraged.
Click Here to read the Full Text of the Ohioans Protecting Ohioans Urgent Health Advisory
Governor DeWine has announced the following re-openings as part of Responsible Restart Ohio
May 31st: Child Care Providers in Ohio will be permitted to reopen if these providers can meet required safety protocols. You can find the full list of mandatory and recommended best practices. To assist in the reopening of child care centers, Ohio will seek to use more than $60 million in federal CARES Act funding to provide reopening grants to all of Ohio’s child care providers, including family child care, child care centers, and both publicly-funded and private providers. Governor DeWine also announced that Ohio will fund a research project to study best practices for controlling the spread of COVID-19 in child care settings. Information gathered from the study will continue to inform child care regulations moving forward. Click Here to learn more. Also Click Here for helpful information for parents.
May 26th: Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) locations in Ohio will be permitted to reopen for certain services if these facilities can meet required safety protocols. Services that can be accomplished online should still be done online. More details on online BMV services can be found at oplates.com.
May 26: Gyms and Fitness Centers in Ohio will be permitted to reopen if these facilities can meet required safety protocols. Click Here to learn more.
May 26: Sports Leagues in Ohio will be permitted to operate if these leagues can meet required safety protocols. This applies only to non-contact and limited-contact sports. Safety protocols for high-contact sports are in development. Click Here to learn more.
May 26: Public Pools and Club Pools that are regulated by local health departments in Ohio will be permitted to reopen if these facilities can meet required safety protocols. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water. Click Here to learn more.
May 22: Horse Racing in Ohio will be permitted if these operations can meet required safety protocols. Spectators will not be permitted.This does not apply to casinos and racinos, as safety protocols for these venues are in development. Click Here to learn more.
May 21: Campgrounds in Ohio will be permitted to reopen if these facilities can meet required safety protocols. Click Here to learn more.
Restaurants and Bars in Ohio will be permitted to reopen as follows: Outdoor dining: May 15th and Dine-in service: May 21st, 2020. To ensure that these establishments operate in the safest manner possible, Governor DeWine’s Restaurant Advisory Group created a detailed list of guidelines and best practices for restaurant and bar owners to follow. Click Here to learn more. Also Click Here to view Restaurant Food Establishment Guidance.
May 15: Personal Care Services such as hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons, and tanning facilities may reopen on May 15, 2020. To ensure that these establishments operate in the safest manner possible, Governor DeWine’s Personal Services Advisory Group created a detailed list of guidelines and best practices for personal care service providers to follow. The full list of mandatory and recommended best practices can be found at coronaviurs.ohio.gov.
May 12: Consumer Retail and Services may reopen if these establishments can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees. Click Here to learn more.
May 4: Manufacturing, Distribution, and Construction Businesses may reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees. Additionally, general office environments may reopen if they can also meet mandatory safety requirements. Click Here to learn more.
May 1: Medically necessary procedures that do not require an overnight stay in a healthcare facility, or do not require inpatient hospital admission and minimizes use of personal protective equipment, may move forward. This includes regular doctor visits, well-care checks, well-baby visits, out-patient surgeries, imaging procedures, and diagnostic tests. Dental services and veterinary services may also proceed if a safe environment can be established. Click Here to learn more.
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Unemployment due to COVID-19
Don’t forget to register for the upcoming virtual job fair! Register by May 25th, job fair takes places June 15th through June 19th. Click Here to learn more. Ohioans can apply for unemployment benefits online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at unemployment.ohio.gov. It is also possible to file by phone at 877-644-6562 or TTY at 888- 642-8203, Monday through Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm, Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Sunday 9:00am to 1:00pm. When applying online try non-peak hours like early in the morning. If you are ineligible for state unemployment, you may be eligible of relief under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. The system went live on May 12th and you can register at: pua.unemployment.ohio.gov. The benefit amount will be similar to traditional unemployment benefits plus $600. Benefits will last for 13 weeks.
Help for Families due to COVID-19
ODJFS said that electronic pandemic EBT program just received federal approval. JFS will be able to provide SNAP benefits for some 850,000 students across Ohio. Families will receive $300 to feed children. For more information visit: www.benefits.ohio.gov. Click Here to view additional Economic Resources for Individuals and Families.
North Royalton City Government Important Updates Regarding COVID-19
COVID-19 May 19th Update from Fire Chief Chegan
COVID continues to be on the forefront of our operations as we continue to provide excellent care and providing our patients and staff the personal protection needed to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.The Fire Department COVID operations have not changed. The department is still closed to visitors and is maintaining health screenings for our employees multiple times a day which continues to include temperature checks. As of today, we have had no members ill during the event. They continue to respond and treat with the COVID protocols that were developed regionally in March. We will re‐evaluate opening the fire department to visitors after June 1st. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protocols continues to be in place for our members. We have been extremely aggressive in acquiring the needed PPE either through purchase or through the County distribution chain to make sure we can provide the appropriate health and safety measures to our members and the community. We continue to meet with our stakeholders including UHPMC which is our Medical Control. The Cuyahoga County Fire Chiefs continue to play a vital role in regional COVID operations with Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management and Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Our Fire Prevention Division has provided an informational handout to all of our restaurants in preparation for their re‐opening. Our goal is to assist them in understanding the guidelines and assuring in advance they are following the fire code for the health and wellbeing of their employees and patrons with any modifications that are being completed at their establishment. There is also information in our newsletter for Re‐opening guidelines and checklists for businesses and employees. The Fire Department call volume has increased and is 15% above normal for the past couple of weeks. The month of April ended up 15% below average with the month of March being slightly above. The COVID “Meets Criteria” calls are averaging about 20‐25% of all responses which is down from April which averaged 40‐50%. We continually put updated guidelines and best practice into policy and procedure for our employees in all the other departments. The city is moving forward as well with the “opening” of business and preparing health and safety measures for our staff and all visitors at City Hall, Service and Building departments. One note on consumer safety: Scammers are contacting people claiming to be tracing COVID‐19 contacts. While legitimate health agencies, including the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the Cleveland Department of Public Health are calling people to complete contact tracing, they will NEVER ask for your Social Security or Bank Account information. DO NOT click on links or respond to texts saying you have been exposed to COVID‐19. Please report suspicious calls or texts to http://ConsumerAffairs.CuyahogaCounty.US or call 216‐443‐SCAM.
City Buildings, Recreation Re-Openings, and & Event Cancellations
- Groups and gatherings of more than 10 people are still prohibited by the Governor. Because of this, the City Administration had to make the difficult decision to CANCEL two of longstanding summer events here in the City of North Royalton of the Pet Carnival and the North Royalton Community Festival. There were simply too many uncertainties surrounding public gatherings, as well as financial burdens for vendors. Hopefully, if state restrictions are eventually lessened, the City and Chamber of Commerce can plan an event possibly in the fall.
- Memorial Park remains CLOSED. It will remain closed to abide by the Governor’s rule on gatherings and groups. However, the Mayor has ordered that the tennis courts and skate park be reopened this weekend. Again, please be mindful of social distancing when utilizing these two areas.
- Municipal buildings have reopened to the public, with the exception of the Office on Aging and the Fire Stations. Social distancing measures are practiced in our buildings, and with enhanced disinfecting and cleaning practices.
The North Royalton Library will be reopening June 1 for curbside and drive-thru window service. Click Here to learn more.
The North Royalton Family YMCA has announced it anticipates reopening, beginning May 26th, and has incorporated several precautions to ensure the safety of both members and staff: sanitizing the facility, updating cleaning procedures, increasing cleaning and sanitizing materials, designing environments that support social distancing, screening visitors and having their staff wear masks and gloves. Click Here to learn more.
North Royalton Ward 3 Neighborhood Buddy Program for COVID-19
If you are Ward 3 resident who is elderly, lives alone, has a pr-existing condition please consider signing up TODAY to participate in the #NRWard3Buddy Program. The purpose of this program is to establish a “buddy” system in North Royalton Ward 3 to ensure vulnerable and hard-to-reach community members stay connected to COVID-19 related news, food, services, and help keep positive morale to get through the COVID-19 emergency safely. While supplies last every person in the program gets a FREE cloth mask. If you are interested in having a buddy contact me Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw via email at ward3@northroyalton.org, or online at http://www.danlangshaw.com/contact or by phone at 440-785-4240. (Note: Residents not living in Ward 3 who want a buddy will not be turned away).
#MaskUpNRWard3 & #MaskUpNoRo Initiative
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that Americans wear cloth face coverings (masks) in public to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This recommendation is being made based on studies that show a significant proportion of people with COVID-19 lack symptoms and can transmit the virus to others in close proximity, through speaking, coughing, sneezing or other means. So in late March of 2020, I launched my #MaskUpNRWard3 & #MaskUpNoRo Initiative to get as many homemade cloth face masks to residents and businesses who urgently need in both Ward 3 and North Royalton Community to eliminate the spread of COVID-19! Because of the help of many amazing volunteers “Mask Angels”, generous donations of supplies, and more. Over 1,500 FREE homemade cloth masks have already been given out so far to the elderly, those with high risk conditions to COVID-19, #NRWard3Buddy Program residents, nurses, front line health care workers, nursing homes, residential care facilities for those with developmental disabilities, essential businesses, essential workers, first responders families, and more throughout both Ward 3 and the entire North Royalton community! Wearing a mask on top of other measures like social distancing and proper personal hygiene will help get us hopefully closer to a return back to normal sooner! If you need a mask or like to make a donation of supplies email me North Royalton Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw at ward3@northroyalton.org or call 440-785-4240.
North Royalton Ward 3 COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Website
North Royalton Ward 3 Residents Click Here to view the COVID-19 Ward 3 Updates, alerts, and helpful information including places to get take out, buy masks locally, business assistance, and more.
Top 4 places to get accurate and 24/7 situational information you need to know in staying safe throughout this emergency are the following resources:
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus
State of Ohio & Governor Mike DeWine
https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home
Cuyahoga County Board of Health
https://www.ccbh.net/coronavirus/
City of North Royalton
Website: www.northroyalton.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityofNorthRoyaltonOH/