RIGHT NOW EVENING.
I SPEAK TO YOU TONIGHT FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE AND THE OHIO STATE CAPITOL.
WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE MOST CRITICAL POINT IN OUR BATTLE AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS.
IF ALL OF US DO NOT TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SLOW THIS VIRUS DOWN.
THE TRAGEDY THAT WE SEE PLAYING OUT ON OUR TELEVISION SCREENS EVERY DAY IN FLORIDA, TEXAS, ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA.
MAY WELL BE OUR REALITY IN JUST A MATTER OF WEEKS.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS NIGHTMARE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE OUR FUTURE.
NOW SOME HAVE WONDERED WHAT NEW HEALTH ORDERS MIGHT BE ISSUED TONIGHT.
THAT’S A DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER TIME.
HE’S YOUR GOVERNOR.
I WILL TAKE WHATEVER ACTION IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE.
BUT THE TRUTH IS WHAT YOUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OR WHAT?
I ORDER IT’S NOT NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT WE ALL DO WHAT WE ALL DO.
IN THESE CRUCIAL DAYS AHEAD.
OUR FUTURE TRULY LIES.
IN OUR OWN HANDS OHIOANS HAVE FACED MANY CHALLENGES THROUGHOUT TIME.
WARS FLOODS TORNADOES BUT REALLY NOTHING QUITE LIKE THIS SINCE GOVERNOR JAMES COX WAS OUR GOVERNOR DURING THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC OF 1918.
GOVERNOR COX AND I ARE BOTH FROM MIAMI VALLEY.
BUT THE REASON I KEEP HIS FIGURE HERE.
IS TO REMIND ME OF THE RESILIENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF ALL HIGHER ONES WHO WENT THROUGH THAT HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.
AND I KNOW THE GOVERNOR COX MUST HAVE FELT AS I DO EVERY DAY.
THE PAIN AND ANGUISH OF EACH FAMILY.
WHO LOST SOMEONE TO THAT VIRUS?
EARLY THIS YEAR WE WATCHED AS THE CORONAVIRUS ERUPTED IN CHINA EUROPE THAN IN THE UNITED STATES AND THEN IN, OHIO.
BOONE OHIO, YOU DID WHAT OHIOANS ALWAYS DO YOU RALLY YOU RALLY TOGETHER?
YOU DID WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE EARLY IN THIS FIGHT.
AND YOU TOOK A COLLECTIVE LEAP OF FAITH.
IN A BATTLE AN INVISIBLE ENEMY LIKES OF WHICH HASN’T BEEN SEEN IN OHIO AND THIS COUNTRY IN MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS.
YOU MADE EXTRAORDINARY SACRIFICES.
THE LEFT SCHOOL YOU LEFT WORK?
YOU STAYED HOME?
YOU MISS LOVED ONES.
YOU MISS MILESTONES.
YES, YOU MISSED PAYCHECKS.
BECAUSE YOU ARE OHIOANS.
STRONG STEADFAST SELFLESS YOU ALSO SAVED MANY LIVES.
YOU FLATTEN THAT CURVE.
IN WITH YOUR INDIVIDUAL AND YOUR COLLECTIVE ACTIONS YOU BOUGHT A OHIO TIME PRECIOUS FINITE TIME FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO CREATE A STATEWIDE HOSPITAL SSTEM AND FOR DOCTORS AND
NURSES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS NOVEL ILLNESS HOW BEST TO RESPOND.
TIME FOR OHIO TO PROCURE LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SUCH AS VENTILATORS AS WELL AS PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT.
AND WITH NO VACCINE IN SIGHT.
YOU GAVE US TIME.
TIME TO LEARN HOW TO BETTER MANAGE THIS DISEASE SO WE COULD CAREFULLY AND RESPONSIBLY REOPEN THE STATE TO PROTECT BOTH OUR LIVES.
AND OUR LIVELIHOOD WE SAW AN INPUT FROM BUSINESS LEADERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND WE LISTENED TO THE SCIENTISTS AND OTHER HEALTH EXPERTS TO DEVELOP GUIDING PROTOCOLS TO OPEN IN AN
INCREMENTAL MEASURED WAY THAT COULD PROTECT THE SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS ALIKE.
BY CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS EARLY ON WE WERE ABLE TO RESPONSIBLY REOPEN.
OHIO ECONOMY ECONOMY HAS STARTED COMING BACK.
OHIO UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS COMING DOWN.
WELL IN APRIL THE REVISED RATE WAS 17.6% BY MAY IN A DROP TO 13.7% AND FURTHER FOR 10 STRAIGHT WEEKS APPLICATIONS FOR CONTINUED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS HAVE DECLINED.
WE MUST KEEP THE VIRUS IN CHECK.
SO WE CAN REBUILD CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.
KEEP THE POSITIVE ECONOMIC MOMENTUM GOING.
SO, WHERE ARE WE NOW?
CLEARLY CLEARLY THE VIRUS IS SPREADING WITH A VENGEANCE ACROSS MANY PARTS OF, OHIO.
IN WORKS WAITING TO ATTACK VICTIMS IN ALL OF OUR 88 COUNTIES.
TRAGICALY JUST FOUR MONTHS.
WE HAVE ALREADY LOST 3075 OF OUR FELLOW OHIOANS TO THIS DREADED DISEASE.
NEARLY THE SAME NUMBER OF OHIOANS WHO DIED IN THE VIETNAM WAR.
OR HOSPITALS ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE COVID PATIENTS.
THERE ARE TONIGHT A THOUSAND TWENTY SEVEN OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS IN OUR HOSPITALS OHIO SUFFERING FROM COVID.
316 OR AN INTENSIVE CARE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX A VENTILATOR AND MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE RECOVERED.
THOSE WHO RECOVER NOW SUFFER FROM LONG TERM AND IN SOME PERMANENT HEALTH CONSEQUENCES.
SUCH AS LUNG DAMAGE KIDNEY DAMAGE AND OTHER VERY SIGNIFICANT MEDICAL PROBLEMS.
OHIO IS NOW NEARING OUR APRIL AND MAY PEAK OF JUST OVER 1100 HOSPITAL PATIENTS WITH THE CINCINNATI AND DAYTON REGIONS CURRENTLY SEEING MORE COVID POSITIVE PATIENTS IN THEIR
HOSPITALS THAN DURING ANY PREVIOUS TIME DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND THE CLEVELAND REGION IS ALSO NEARING A SIMILAR POINT.
MELTING BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC IT TOOK OHIO 20 DAYS TO REACH OUR FIRST 1,500 TOTAL CASES.
LAST WEEK WE SAW OVER 1,500 CASES IN A SINGLE DAY.
AND DON’T THINK JUST A MONTH AGO.
WE WERE ONLY AT 400 NEW CASES PER DAY.
NOW, I KNOW THAT SOME SAY THAT OUR CASE NUMBERS ARE INCREASING BECAUSE WE’RE SIMPLY DOING MORE TESTING.
YES.
WE CERTAINLY ARE DOING MORE TESTING AND WE WANT TO DO MORE TESTING.
IN FACT, OUR TESTING HAS GONE UP BY 87 PERCENT.
BUT OUR NUMBER OF POSITIVE CASES HAS SKYROCKETED TO ALMOST TWO HUNDRED PERCENT.
CLEARLY OUR NUMBER OF NEW CASES IS NOT JUST THE RESULT OF INCREASED TESTING.
LET’S LOOK AGAIN AT OHIO AND FLORIDA.
ON JUNE 9TH, FLORIDA HAD 1,200 CASES PER DAY ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE HAD IN, OHIO YESTERDAY.
THIS PAST SUNDAY JUST ONE MONTH LATER FOR HIS CASE NUMBERS.
WE’RE AT 15,300 NEW CASES IN ONE DAY.
A MONTH AGO, FLORIDA AVERAGE EIGHT POINT THREE NEW CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND RESIDENTS PER DAY A LITTLE BIT UNDER WHAT WE HAVE IN OHIO CURRENTLY.
AS OF YESTERDAY FOR HIS NEW CASES HAVE INCREASED SIX-FOLD PER DAY.
IF YOU WANT CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND PER DAY.
A MONTH AGO, ARIZONA, ARIZONA WAS ALSO AT 1200 NEW CASES PER DAY.
AS OF SUNDAY, ARIZONA WAS AT 3400 NEW CASES PER DAY AND FURTHER ARIZONA AVERAGED ALMOST 18 NEW CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND RESIDENTS PER DAY LAST MONTH.
BUT THAT HAS INCREASED TWO AND A HALF TIMES AS OF YESTERDAY TWO AND A HALF TIMES.
IF WE DO NOT CHANGE COURSE.
FLORIDA AND ARIZONA WILL BE OUR FUTURE.
I’VE ALWAYS FOUND HISTORY TO BE A TEACHER SO EARLY IN THE PANDEMIC.
I READ A BOOK BY A MAN BY THE NAME OF JOHN BARRY CALLED THE GREAT INFLUENZA.
IT’S ABOUT THE CATASTROPHIC FLU OF 1918.
HE WROTE AN ARTICLE YESTERDAY.
PUTS OUR CURRENT REALITY INTO SOBERING PERSPECTIVE.
THIS IS WHAT HE SAID.
THIS IS OUR SECOND CHANCE.
WE WON’T GET A THIRD.
IF WE DON’T GET THE GROWTH OF THIS PANDEMIC UNDER CONTROL NOW.
IN A FEW MONTHS WHEN THE WEATHER TURNS COLD AND FORCES PEOPLE TO SPEND MORE TIME INDOORS.
WE COULD FACE A DISASTER THAT DWARFS THE SITUATION TODAY.
OHIO IS SLIDING WERE SLIDING DOWN A VERY DANGEROUS PATH.
WITH OUR ONCE FLAT AND CURVED TO SHARPEN AND JUST BIKE.
THIS WORRISOME DISTURBING REVERSAL OF OUR PROGRESS.
SHOULD BE A DRAWING REMINDER OF JUST HOW QUICKLY OUR FATE.
I CAN CHANGE.
A MATTER OF WEEKS CAN CHANGE OUR TRAJECTORY WEEKS CAN ALTER OUR FUTURE.
WE CAN CHANGE OUR LIVES.
WEEKS CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHO LIVES AND WHO DIES IN, OHIO.
WE MUST ACT.
AND WE MUST ACT.
NOW MY FRIENDS THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
THE CERTAINLY IS NOT ANY HOAX.
THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL.
IT’S THE REAL THING.
THE ENEMY IS HERE AND OHIOANS HAVE SIMPLY COME TOO FAR IN THIS FIGHT TO CEDE GROUND NOW.
MY FELLOW OHIOANS WHO CHANGED HISTORY WITH THIS VIRUS BEFORE YOU DID IT.
YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN.
BUT I’M AFRAID THAT OUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY MAYBE SOON CLOSING.
AS WE HAVE SEEN IN, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA AND TEXAS ONCE THINGS START MOVING DOWNHILL.
THEY MOVE VERY QUICKLY.
AND IT’S SO VERY VERY HARD THEN.
TO TURN THINGS BACK AROUND MY FELLOW OHIOANS YOU ALL OF US TOGETHER WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THAT FUTURE.
THIS IS A DEFINING TIME.
V DEFINING TIME FOR EACH ONE OF US AND THERE HAS BEEN NO GREATER CALL IN RECENT TIMES FOR OHIOANS.
AND FOR US TO CALL UPON OUR BETTER ANGELS AS PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN SAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT?
TO PROTECT EACH OTHER OHIO ONES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WILLING TO SACRIFICE TODAY.
FOR A BETTER TOMORROW TONIGHT I’M ASKING EACH OF YOU.
COULD TAKE ACTION NOW.
THE SACRIFICE NOW SO THAT OUR KIDS CAN BE IN SCHOOL THIS FALL.
SO THEY CAN AT LEAST HAVE A CHANCE TO PLAY SPORTS SO OUR BUSINESSES CAN REMAIN OPEN.
SO THE OHIO ONES CONTINUE EARNING A LIVING IN A PAYCHECK AND SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES.
NOW WHAT SPECIFICALLY?
MY ASKING YOU TO DO LET’S START WITH MASH.
LET’S START WITH MASK.
I’M ASKING EACH ONE OF YOU.
POOR EVER YOU LIVE IN OHIO, WHATEVER COUNTY WHATEVER THE COLOR OF YOUR COUNTY.
TO WEAR A MASK EVERY TIME YOU GO OUT.
IN PUBLIC I KNOW SOME MAY STILL QUESTION THE WISDOM OF WORRIED MASK.
BUT AS WE USED TO SAY WHEN I WAS A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY.
THE JURY’S BACK.
THE VERDICT IS IN.
THERE IS A BROAD CONSENSUS TODAY IN THE MEDICAL HEALTH AND BUSINESS COMMUNITIES.
THAT MASKS ARE CRITICAL.
YESTERDAY, DR. ROBERT RED FIELD DIRECTOR OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION SAID THE FOLLOWING IF ALL OF US IF ALL OF US WOULD PUT ON A FACE COVERING NOW FOR THE NEXT FOUR
WEEKS SIX WEEKS WE COULD DRY THIS EPIDEMIC TO THE GROUND.
WORRY MASK IS ALSO OUR BEST WAY TO PROTECT OHIO JOBS.
A RECENT GOLDMAN SACHS REPORT SHOWS THAT WEARING FACE MASKS CAN BE VIEWED AN ALTERNATIVE TO LOCKDOWNS.
AND THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED AT THAT WAY.
THEY FOUND THAT IN MOST CASES WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF PEOPLE CONSISTENTLY WEARING FACE MASKS.
IT WAS A SLOW DOWN IT REAL SLOW DOWN THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS.
FURTHER THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THE CURB THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS AS SUCCESSFULLY IS WEARING FACE MASKS.
SUCCESSFULLY IS THAT DOES WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER A LOCKDOWN THAT ESSENTIALLY WOULD SUBTRACT FIVE PERCENTAGE POINTS OF THE COUNTRY’S GROSS?
MASTIC PRODUCT CERTAINLY NOT SOMETHING WE WANT TO DO.
BUT MASK OR NOT ENOUGH.
THEY’RE NOT ENOUGH.
NOW, LET’S BE HONEST.
ALL OF US ALL OF US HAVE STARTED TO LET OUR GUARD DOWN.
I KNOW I HAVE.
WE’RE TIRED.
WE WANT TO GO BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE.
THAT’S VERY VERY UNDERSTANDABLE.
THE ONE WE DO.
WE’RE LITERALLY PLAYING A RUSSIAN ROULETTE GAME WITH OUR OWN LIVES.
AND OUR FAMILIES AND OUR NEIGHBORS.
GOOD DECISIONS WILL PROTECT THE ECONOMY AND SAVE LIVES RECKLESS ONES WILL HURT AND KILL.
THESE ARE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
FOR ALL OF US, BUT WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES.
WELL THAT FAMILY REUNIONS BE WORTH IT IF OUR GRANDMOTHER LATER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID.
DIES WELL THAT NEIGHBOHOOD PCOOKOUT BE WORTH IT IF YOUR NEIGHBOR ENDS UP ALONE ON THE VENTILATOR IN INTENSIVE CARE.
WILL THAT PLAY DATE BE WORTH IT IF THE KIDS GO BACK CAN’T GO BACK TO SCHOOL AT IN THE FALL.
WE’RE ALL TIRED OF BEING COOPED UP.
I KNOW YOUR KIDS WANT TO BE WITH THEIR FRIENDS FRAN AND I KNOW THAT OUR GRANDCHILDREN CERTAINLY DO AS WELL.
WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES.
WHAT’S BETTER?
KNOWING YOU DID ALL YOU COULD TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR NEIGHBORS SAFE AND OUR ECONOMY OPEN.
WE’RE TAKING RISKS THAT TO ILLNESS DEATH ANOTHER ECONOMIC SHUTDOWN DON’T WE ALL WANT TO BE AROUND?
TO MEET OUR FUTURE CHILDREN OUR FUTURE GRANDCHILDREN.
THOSE NOT YET BORN.
TEN THEIR BAPTISMS TO WATCH OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS GRADUATE FROM SCHOOL.
TO ATTAIN THEIR FUTURE WEDDINGS THIS VIRUS WILL END.
IT WILL END.
AND DON’T WE ALL WANT TO BE AROUND WHEN IT DOES?
SO WE CAN ENJOY LIFE.
ENJOY OUR FAMILIES.
ENJOY OUR FRIEND AS I SAID TO SOMEBODY THE OTHER DAY.
THERE WILL BE OPENING DAY BASEBALL GAMES.
WE CAN GO TO THERE WILL BE SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN DO IN THE FUTURE.
WE JUST GOT TO GET THROUGH THIS.
NOW NONE OF US CAN DO THIS ALONE.
IN WORDS OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO RONALD REAGAN REAGAN SAID WE CAN’T HELP EVERYONE.
BUT EVERYONE CAN HELP SOMEONE.
THESE ARE ONCE IN A HUNDRED YEARS SACRIFICES.
HE’S A SHORT-TERM INCONVENIENCES FOR LONG-TERM FREEDOMS.
IN ITS JANUARY 1941 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS TO CONGRESS PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT BEGAN TO MAKE HIS CASE TO END THE ISOLATION PAULA G POLICIES THAT EMERGED FOLLOWING
WORLD WAR ONE HE SPOKE OF AMERICA’S NEED TO SACRIFICE IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND THE UNITY THAT COMES WITH THE NATION’S COLLECTIVE ACTIONS.
HERE IS WHAT HE SAID.
NO ONE CAN TELL THE EXACT CHARACTER OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS THAT WE MAY BE THEY MAY CALLED UPON TO MEET.
THE NATION’S HANDS WAS NOT BE TIED WHEN THE NATION’S LIFE IS IN DANGER.
ALL OF US MUST PREPARE TO MAKE THE SACRIFICES THAT THE EMERGENCY ALMOST AS SERIOUS AS WAR ITSELF DEMANDS.
OUR STRENGTH IS OUR UNITY OF PURPOSE.
AND TO THAT HIGH CONCEPT THERE CAN BE AND SAVE VICTORY.
OUR WAY OF LIFE IN OHIO IS IN DANGER.
OUR STATE’S LIFE IS IN DANGER.
AND OUR OWN STRENGTH LIES IN THAT UNITY OF PURPOSE.
EARLY IN THIS PANDEMIC OHIOANS CAME TOGETHER.
YOU SHOWED EXTRAORDINARY KINDNESS CARE COMPASSION FOR YOUR FAMILIES YOUR FRIENDS YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FOR STRANGERS ALIKE.
YOU ROSE TO THE OCCASION.
YOU ANSWERED THE CALL.
I’M ASKING YOU I’M CALLING ON ALL OF YOU.
TO ONCE AGAIN UNITE THIS VIRUS IS REAL.
IS KILLING OUR FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS OR COWORKERS?
WE MUST TAKE THE LONG VIEW IN A RESPONSE TO IT.
AND REMEMBER THAT OHIOANS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A STRONG DETERMINED RESILIENT PEOPLE WHO TIME AND TIME AGAIN HAVE OVERCOME ADVERSITY AND BEAT THE ODDS.
FROM THE NATIVE AMERICANS WHO CREATED INTRICATE AND MASSIVE EARTHWORKS TO THE PIONEERS WHO NAVIGATED THEIR WAY ALONG THE OHIO RIVER AND CONSTRUCTED THE NATIONAL ROAD TO THE
ABOLITIONISTS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE AN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD LEADING THOSE IN SLAVERY TO FREEDOM.
TO THE IMMIGRANTS WHO BUILD OUR CITIES THE AMERICAN THE AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THOSE FROM APPALACHIA WHO MIGRATED TO OHIO TO WORK RAISE A FAMILY START A BETTER LIFE?
THE STAR OF THIS PANDEMIC OHIO AND SET THE EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.
NO, THIS HAS BEEN A TRYING TRYING TIME FOR ALL OHIOANS.
YOU SHOW THE WORLD WHAT WAS POSSIBLE WHEN PEOPLE WORK TOGETHER?
YOU SHOW THE WORLD OUR OHIO GRIT.
I REMAIN AN OPTIMIST AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE WILL RISE OUT OF THE GREAT TRAGEDY OF THIS VIRUS AND ALL THAT IT HAS LAID BARE.
POSITIVE THINGS WILL COME OUT OF OUR STRUGGLE.
AMERICAN AND OHIO INGENUITY INNOVATION CREATIVITY DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR FAMILY WITH OUR FRIENDS A STRONGER RENEWED SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND OUR OBLIGATIONS TO ONE ANOTHER
ALVA THE STRUGGLE WE WILL LEARN.
AND WE WILL EMERGE STRONGER BETTER MORE TOUGHER MORE RESILIENT.
THE BIBLE BIBLE TELLS US IN GALATIANS?
LET US NOT GROW WEARY OF DOING GOOD.
FOR IN DUE SEASON, WE WILL REAP.
IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP.
OHIO AND NEVER GIVE UP IN OHIO ONES WILL NOT GROW WEARY OF DOING GOOD IN HELPING TO PROTECT EACH OTHER.
WE ARE BUCKEYES.
WE ARE STRONG AND WE WILL NOT RELENT AS WE FORGE A PATH FORWARD UNITED UNITED.
BUILDING OHIO’S GREAT FUTURE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
