Ohio governor says order requiring customers to wear face masks in stores was ‘a bridge too far’

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said on Sunday that he backed down from his mandate that all state residents who walk into retail stores wear face masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus because it was a ‘bridge too far.’

‘People were not going to accept the government telling them what to do,’ DeWine told ABC News’ This Week on Sunday.

DeWine, who was one of the first governors to order his state to shut down due to the ongoing pandemic, has been under pressure from protesters to restart economic activity in the Buckeye State.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Sunday said his order for customers to wear masks in retail locations in the state went ‘too far’

DeWine has been under pressure from protesters to allow businesses in the state to reopen. The image above shows protesters in front of the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday

On Tuesday, he rescinded a statewide order requiring customers wear masks at all retail locations.

DeWine acknowledged on Twitter that some found the face-mask directive ‘offensive.’

He said that while the state will not make face masks mandatory, wearing them is still strongly encouraged.

‘Face masks are very important and our business group came back and said every employee, for example, should wear a face mask,’ the governor said.

‘So we’re continuing that, whether it’s retail or wholesale, whatever it is, manufacturing, every employee’s going to have the face mask.’

The governor on Sunday said that supporters of the Republican Party were more likely to support restarting the economy while Democrats were concerned with the spread of the virus.

‘I think generally Republicans are less inclined to have the government tell them what to do,’ DeWine said.

‘And that’s generally how I am. I’m a conservative Republican.

‘I think we’re better off not having the government tell us what to do.’

Dozens of protesters of Ohio’s stay-at-home orders returned to the Statehouse in Columbus on Friday, pounding on windows and shouting.

‘Reopen all Ohio businesses now’ read one protester’s sign. State troopers in riot gear stood by.

Ohio state health officials on Saturday said the number of confirmed and probable deaths associated with the coronavirus has now reached 1,021.

The Ohio health department posted figures on Saturday indicating 940 confirmed deaths and another 81 probable deaths associated with the virus.

The department noted more than 18,500 confirmed cases of the virus and a confirmed and probable total of more than 19,300.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks.

Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (above) on Sunday condemned protesters in her state who brandished arms and waved racist and anti-Semitic placards earlier this week

One protester likened the governor to Hitler during a protest in Lansing on Thursday

Several protesters tried to enter the Michigan House of Representatives chamber in Lansing on Thursday. Many were not wearing face coverings

A militia group with no political affiliation from Michigan stands in front of the governor’s office after protesters occupied the state capitol building in Lansing on Thursday

“We have to listen to the epidemiologist and health experts and displays like the one we saw at our capitol is not representative of who we are.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reacts to protesters descending on her state’s capitol, including some who were armed #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/nz7kV3mHQU

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 3, 2020

DeWine announced that the state would gradually begin to reactivate the economy though critics warn that encouraging people to leave quarantine too fast could once again lead to another massive outbreak.

‘I told Ohioans Friday, I said we can do two things at once,’ DeWine told ABC News.

When asked what would happen in the event of another major outbreak in his state, DeWine said: ‘We’ll have to take action.’

‘We got to bring the economy back, but we also have to continue to protect people,’ the governor said.

On Friday, DeWine extended the state shutdown until May 29, dubbed the ‘Stay Safe Ohio Order.’

‘We can stay safe, we can protect each other, we can protect our most vulnerable, and at the same time get people back to work,’ the Republican governor said.

Consistent with DeWine’s earlier announcements, health care offices were allowed to reopen on Friday, followed by construction companies, distributors, manufacturers and offices on Monday, May 4.

Bars and movie theaters remain closed, along with in-person dining at restaurants.

Sporting events and concerts are still prohibited.

Multiple working groups are being formed to come up with the best and safest way to restart activities, including hair care, dining out, going to the gym, visiting libraries and participating in sporting events, DeWine said.

Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House coronavirus task force said it was ‘devastatingly worrisome’ to see protesters not wear face coverings

Anti-lockdown protests in Ohio and Michigan have generated headlines in recent days after several demonstrators were seen waving racist and anti-Semitic placards.

A large number of demonstrators were also seen not wearing any face coverings.

In Michigan, several demonstrators armed with automatic rifles were seen gathering just outside the office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. 

White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx on Sunday said it was ‘devastatingly worrisome’ to see protesters in Michigan and elsewhere not wear masks or practice social distancing as they demonstrate against stay-at-home orders.

Birx was responding to the hundreds of protesters who crowded the Michigan statehouse last week to push for a reopening of businesses.

She told Fox News Sunday that people ‘will feel guilty for the rest of our lives’ if they pick up the virus because they didn’t take precautions and then unwittingly spread it to family members who are especially vulnerable to severe illness due to preexisting conditions or older age.

Protests took place in several states over the weekend amid growing frustration over the economic impact from stay at home orders during the coronavirus outbreak.

Birx says: ‘We need to protect each other at the same time we’re voicing our discontent.’ 

Michigan’s governor says gun-carrying protesters who demonstrated inside her state’s Capitol ‘depicted some of the worst racism’ and ‘awful parts’ of US history. 

Whitmer, a Democrat, told CNN that the protests featured ‘Confederate flags, and nooses,’ as well as swastikas.

Members of the Michigan Liberty Militia protested the state’s stay-at-home orders this week, some with weapons and tactical gear and their faces partially covered.

They went inside the Capitol, where being armed is allowed, then demanded access to the House floor, which is prohibited.

Some went to the Senate gallery, where a senator said armed men shouted at her.

Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature has questioned Whitmer’s authority to extend stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

But the governor used an executive order to extend a state of emergency declaration and has directed most businesses statewide to remain closed.

Mentioned as a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Whitmer said Sunday, ‘This isn’t something we just negotiate ourselves out of and it’s a political matter.’

‘This is a public health crisis,’ she said. 

Michigan on Saturday had the highest coronavirus fatality rate in the United States as deaths increased by 232 to 4,021.

The state’s death rate reached 9.3 per cent on Saturday amid protests over lockdown measures after Whitmer extended her stay-at-home order through May 28.

Deaths from coronavirus in the U.S. have now exceeded 67,000 as Michigan, New York and New Jersey all reported more than 200 deaths in the past day.

The national number of infections climbed to 1,160,519 by Saturday evening after new daily infections spiked by 35,052 on Friday. 

This was the third highest number of new cases in a day in America since the start of the pandemic.

New daily deaths decreased to 1,872 on Friday, however, after three days where they had soared over 2,000.

The coronavirus fatality rate in the US is 5.8 per cent, as of Saturday evening. 

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