Governor Mike DeWine says he is creating an economic advisory board to help the state recover when the coronavirus pandemic ends.
DeWine announced the board was being assembled now to plan ahead and then quickly move forward when the crisis is over.
Frank Sullivan from Medina-based RPM International was selected to lead the board.
In the last two weeks, the Department of Jobs and Family Services says more than 450,000 people have applied for unemployment benefits due to COVID-19.
Findlay High School and Millstream Career Center have donated personal protective equipment in the battle against the coronavirus.
They donated nearly 10,000 pairs of gloves to keep healthcare workers and first responders safe as they go about their jobs.
Ohio’s health director said the state has received its federal shipment of personal protective equipment like masks and gloves but that it doesn’t meet the need.
Dr. Amy Acton said the supply the state got from the Strategic National Stockpile and the amount in its own reserves aren’t enough to meet immediate or future needs as more people are diagnosed with the coronavirus.
With a little help from his neighbors and friends, the fire department and 100.5 WKXA, Briggs still had a memorable 4th birthday despite not being able to have a big party because of the coronavirus going around.
A long line of cars stretched down Briggs’ street on Thursday and slowly went by his house honking their horns and dropping off gifts.
The WKXA van was playing a Happy Birthday song as it slowly went by.
The Findlay Fire Department was there and had their lights and sirens going.
One person even drove by on a lawnmower.
The youngster’s mom, Kayla, says they had a big party planned and Briggs was bummed that it had to be canceled because of the coronavirus.
But she says the parade of cars really brightened his birthday and gave him a memory he’ll never forget.
Happy birthday Briggs!
As of Thursday afternoon there were 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Hancock County.
Hancock Public Health said five of the patients have been hospitalized.
Statewide there were 2,902 confirmed cases as of Thursday and 81 deaths.
The governor on Thursday announced that the Stay At Home Order has been extended to May.
People experiencing coronavirus symptoms of shortness of breath, cough, fever of 100.4 or higher and fatigue should call the Blanchard Valley Hospital COVID-19 testing center at 419-423-7890 or the testing center Bluffton Hospital at 419-369-2399.
For local information and resources people can call the Hancock County Resource Call Center at 419-425-9999.
The Ohio Department of Health’s Stay At Home order has been extended through May 1st.
“We are going to continue to see the numbers go up no matter what we do, but we can do all we can to keep the numbers down,” Governor DeWine said on Thursday.
“Today I have asked Dr. Acton to extend the Department of Health’s Stay at Home Order to 11:59pm on May 1st. This extension is necessary.”
The order is essentially the same order that went into effect on March 23rd and was to expire on April 6th.
One change, however, is the new order requires retail businesses to establish the number of people who should be in the business at one time.
The governor says they’re not telling them the number because businesses are all different. But businesses must determine their number and post it.
As of Thursday there were 2,902 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio and 81 deaths.
Hancock Public Health was reporting 9 cases in the county.
The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum is staying connected with kids during the coronavirus pandemic through Virtual Story Time videos.
Virtual Story Time is part of the University of Findlay’s proactive approach to combatting the coronavirus while the Mazza Museum is closed to the public.
The staff at the Mazza Museum has been recording book readings for parents and their children to watch at home at a time when they are needed most.
Virtual Story Time is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
The morning story is fun and upbeat while the evening story will help kids wind down for the night.
Ohio State football players are breathing a sigh of relief that the latest announcement from their coach is only an April Fool’s Day prank.
On Wednesday, head football coach Ryan Day tweeted out a video chat from strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti announcing he was leaving the program to follow his passion.
“I’m gonna go be a rock-n-roll star,” Marotti said in the video.
Luckily for those watching the video, coach Day can be heard laughing in the background as Marotti displays a drum kit and says his first show will be this August at Put-in-Bay.
We had a team meeting today and Coach Mick gave his farewell to the team. Want to thank him for everything he has done for Ohio St. pic.twitter.com/y5Uvo0d5HK
— Ryan Day (@ryandaytime) April 1, 2020
The Hancock County Board of Elections has set up a drop box for absentee ballot requests and ballots outside their building at 201 East Lincoln Street in Findlay.
People can drop their information in the drop box at any time.
You can also pick up absentee requests from the small box attached to the east side of the drop box.
The drop box is monitored 24/7.
People can also still mail the board of elections and request an absentee ballot.
The board of elections says it thanks everyone for being so patient, and they have started to mail out the ballots as requested.
Ohio’s primary was moved from March 17th to April 28th and will be held through the mail now thanks to the coronavirus.
All ballots need to be postmarked by April 27th.
If you already voted in the March 17th primary your vote will be counted.
Get more information from the Hancock County Board of Elections here.
It was a cool and touching sight at Blanchard Valley Hospital on Wednesday night.
At around 9 o’clock a procession of cars with their flashers on entered the parking lot and pulled into parking spots.
As the flashers continued the people waved their cell phones to say thank you to hospital staff for their hard work during this coronavirus pandemic.
People were also praying for the safety of hospital staff during this dangerous time for them.
Some hospital workers could be seen up in the hospital waving their cell phone light as well.
Some workers came outside to get video of the scene and shouted “thank you” to the people.
“I have a huge lump in my throat, I wanna cry,” one employee said.
As of Wednesday afternoon there were nine confirmed cases of coronavirus in Hancock County, according to Hancock Public Health.
They said four of the patients have been hospitalized.
Statewide there were 2,547 confirmed cases as of Wednesday and 65 deaths.
People experiencing coronavirus symptoms of shortness of breath, cough, fever of 100.4 or higher and fatigue should call the Blanchard Valley Hospital COVID-19 testing center at 419-423-7890.
For local information and resources people can call the Hancock County Resource Call Center at 419-425-9999.