NAPOLEON, Ohio — Ohio Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, wrote a letter addressed to Gov. Mike DeWine, Dr. Amy Acton and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, asking them to consider the context of rural northwest Ohio and allow the reopening of non-essential businesses as long as they follow social distancing guidelines.
In the letter, McColley argues many counties in this area are not as populated as the rest of the state, making social distancing efforts result in fewer per-capita cases.
He added his constituents also understand the importance of being safe and exercising effective social distancing. "Therefore, I strongly believe that the reopening of non-essential businesses, subject to social distancing guidelines, could safely occur in rural northwest Ohio," he said.
McColley represents Ohio District 1, which covers Auglaize (part), Defiance, Fulton (part), Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan (part), Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Williams counties.
The senator said many of these counties just now recovered from the Great Recession and many in his district are concerned about "how long it will take to recover the losses from this shutdown and its collateral economic damages."
His letter echoed the words of Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who also asked the governor to consider reopening businesses in rural Ohio this week.
DeWine addressed the call of Republican members of the Ohio legislature Tuesday during the state's daily briefing on coronavirus.
"What we have to do If we want our economy to pick back up, we want people to be able to be employed, we have to be as deliberate and careful and thoughtful about getting out of this as we were when we had to make the decision to close things down," the governor said.
RELATED: Ohio Coronavirus Update April 14 | Acton: State flattening COVID-19 curve, but 'we can't stop there'
You can read McColley's full letter below:
"Governor DeWine:
I hope you and your family had an enjoyable Easter. I am writing to echo the sentiment of my colleague Senator Matt Huffman in his letter dated April 9, 2020 regarding the reopening of businesses. I also would like to add a local perspective as it pertains to the 1st Senate District. While I am thankful for the leadership you have provided throughout these trying times, I believe there are important factors to consider that may differ across the state as we begin to evaluate the reopening of non-essential businesses.
Over the past week I have received numerous calls from concerned constituents. Many are small business owners. Many are simply concerned about the long-term impact of the shutdown of many aspects of our economy. Many counties in the 1st Senate District have only recently recovered from the economic losses of the Great Recession of the late 2000s. Now many in the District are gravely concerned over how long it will take to recover the losses from this shutdown and its collateral economic damages.
As you are aware, the 1st Senate District includes all or part of 11 counties in rural Northwest Ohio. Many of these counties have very low population density relative to the rest of the state. In most cases, this has aided in social distancing efforts that have resulted in very low per capita case counts relative to the rest of Ohio. In fact, 7 of the 11 counties are in the bottom quarter of the state in confirmed COVID-19 cases per capita, 10 of the 11 are in the bottom half and all are well below the statewide average. Of course, these constituents also understand the importance of being safe and exercising effective social distancing. Therefore, I strongly believe that the reopening of non-essential businesses, subject to social distancing guidelines, could safely occur in rural Northwest Ohio.
I completely understand that concerns will remain over the transmission of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. Clearly, your swift action prevented Ohio from seeing the high case count that many other states are now grappling with. Ohioans appear to have taken the social distancing guidelines set forth by Dr. Acton and yourself very seriously. I am very confident they fully understand the seriousness of this pandemic. I also believe they will embrace the necessary precautions to ensure its transmission remains as limited as possible after our lives begin to return to normal. I urge you to consider the perspective conveyed in this letter. I also respectfully request that you share plans in the near future that detail how and when non- essential businesses will be reopened and that those plans offer more local flexibility for those areas that are not affected as much as others.
Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
Rob McColley"
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