WILMINGTON — Thursday was the first day in Ohio for dine-in service at restaurants and bars since the coronavirus shutdown, and the Jim Finnegan family of Wilmington made a beeline for the Bob Evans Restaurant in Wilmington.
At 11:30 a.m. Thursday there were three tables of customers there. Some of the dining room tables are not available in order to maintain social distancing.
Jim Finnegan sat on one side of a booth, while his son Jim Finnegan II and daughter-in-law Mindy sat on the other side.
They indicated they are happy to be back at a restaurant, with Jim Finnegan I adding, with a chuckle, that he’s tired of cooking.
Sports and banquets
At Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s update and via Twitter on Thursday, he announced, “Catering and banquet centers can reopen under similar guidelines as restaurants effective June 1. Guidelines include six feet between tables and no congregating. For the immediate future, crowd size will be limited to 300.”
DeWine also stated, ”Skills training for all sports may resume on May 26 — including contact sports — as long as safety protocols can be followed. Information on protocols can be found at http://coronavirus.ohio.gov.”
However, he added, “Tournaments, games, and competitions for contact sports are still prohibited for now.”
Impacts to all
DeWine stated that “the African American community has been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. African Americans make up 13%-14% of the #Ohio population, yet 26% of those testing positive for the #COVID19 are African American.
“And as governor, my job is to help protect the safety of all of our communities. We have an obligation to be even more mindful in our response to helping those at higher risk. It should not matter where you live or what race you are. We have an obligation to help all Ohioans.”
DeWine said the state has “created two new data dashboards that look at key factors associated with health and wellbeing so we can better determine vulnerable populations who need help” that can be found at http://coronavirus.ohio.gov .
State totals
The State of Ohio’s totals as of Thursday afternoon are: 30,167 total cases (including probable cases) comprised of 53 percent males and 46 percent women, with 5,295 hospitalizations and 1,397 ICU admissions. There are 1,653 confirmed deaths and 183 probable deaths from the virus for a total of 1,836.
Local cases
The most recent Clinton County report on COVID-19 cases was Wednesday with 37 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six probable cases for a total of 43 comprised of 22 women and 21 men ranging in age from 19 to 91. One person is hospitalized, and 34 have recovered.
