COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has issued a curfew for all retail establishments that will start Thursday and run daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for 21 days.

“At 10 p.m. retail establishments need to be closed and people should be home,” he said in his Tuesday afternoon briefing.

“The curfew does not apply to those who need to be at work, those who have an emergency, or those who need medical care,” he added. “The curfew is not intended to stop anyone from getting groceries, a carry-out/drive-thru meal, or delivery. A lot of this is common sense.

“We believe this will help reduce COVID-19 spread. I’m also asking each Ohioan every day to do at least one thing that reduces your contact with others.

“Each one of us will make a difference,” he said. “If we can cut down contacts by 20-25 percent, this will make a difference. Paired with mask-wearing, this will go a long way from stopping our hospitals from being overrun.

Ohio’s “Revised Order to Limit and/or Prohibit Mass Gatherings” went into effect early Tuesday in which “All public and private gatherings of greater than 10 people occurring outside a single residence and the real estate on which it is located, or an apartment, condominium, or dormitory living unit are prohibited.”

The order does not apply to wedding ceremonies, funeral observances or religious observances, but “wedding receptions, funeral repasts and other events at banquet facilities are subject to each of the following restrictions”:

• No socializing or activities in open congregate areas and no dancing;

• Guests must be seated at all times. Traditional wedding reception events such as first dance, toasts, and cutting the cake are permitted;

• If serving food and beverages, guests must be served at their seats. No self-serve buffets permitted and no self-serve bar areas;

• Masks must be worn at all times unless actively consuming food or beverages; and,

• No more than 10 people seated to a table, and those individuals must be from the same household.

Ohio hospital and intensive care admissions for COVID-19 are at record highs. The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 3,097 new cases per day on Nov. 2 to 7,199 new cases per day on Nov. 16, according to an Associated Press analysis of data provided by The COVID Tracking Project.

Gov. DeWine noted Monday that the order also does not apply to ”First Amendment protected speech, including petition/referendum circulators, and any activity by media; and governmental meetings which include meetings that must be open to public.”

The full text of the order is at bit.ly/2Uz7Ymm .