Although he announced last week that he planned to have an update on reopening daycare and childcare facilities on Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine said during his afternoon press conference that he isn't ready yet to give any dates or plans for those facilities.
"The mistakes I've made in my career have come about when I haven't had all the facts or didn't dig deep enough -- so this process is continuing," said DeWine. "Reopening childcare centers is simply too important to do so without all the best information and protocols in place."
He pledged to work until Ohio's plan for childcare facilities was the best in the country, in order to best stem any spread of COVID-19 from children to families at home. There could be more information coming soon, he said, but did not clarify when that could be.
"It is really a moral imperative that we do this," he said.
Later in the press conference, DeWine was asked whether unemployment benefits would be extended for families who may be forced to stay home longer to care for children. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted responded, saying that currently no one is being denied benefits for refusing to return to work as the economy reopens.
Husted called in the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to respond to the question, who said the policy of providing unemployment to families staying home from work to care for children will continue.
"The return-to-work guidelines that are in place are currently being evaluated for opportunities to examine more deeply the health and safety aspects," said Hall. "No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a person's decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy."
