Governor Says Orders Simplified, Outdoor Venue Restrictions Lifted

COLUMBUS, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – Governor Mike DeWine says festivals, graduations and proms can take place this spring and summer.

And, to facilitate that, the Department of Health is simplifying the masking and distancing orders, allowing for groups of up to ten to sit together at restaurants and even attend sporting events, as long as they are properly distanced from other groups.

And for large outdoor venues, the capacity limit is lifted and masks are not required if the groups-of-ten requirement is observed.

Large indoor venues will still be limited to 25-percent of capacity.

As part of the issuance of that new order, 18 separate smaller orders were rescinded, some of them dating back to last March.

Despite even recent orders being rescinded, the governor says it has nothing to do with the passage of Senate Bill 22.

The new order places a lot of emphasis on mask-wearing.

It’s despite the rise in cases and hospitalizations.

The governor blames the variants, not the behavior of people.