Public Letter from the Wayne County Commissioners

Public Letter from the Wayne County Commissioners

WAYNE COUNTY, OH, Apr. 2020 — The Wayne County Commissioners are directing these concerns to all that need to hear them at this time:

The State of Ohio was proactive at the beginning of this pandemic, and more than likely saved many lives. However, things are now getting worse and people are becoming very discouraged and angry.  While we all understood the need to take necessary precautions at the outset, there are now numbers to substantiate the fact that those who are immune-compromised or elderly are the ones most at risk. Those people should continue to quarantine, but the rest of the population should be allowed to resume their lives while following guidelines for staying safe.

Businesses need to open now and not later. Small business owners are losing their life savings and may not be able to open at all if not permitted to open soon.  Most business owners are responsible and will do the right thing and abide by guidelines, and those who choose not to follow the rules can then be sanctioned, but the majority should not be sacrificed for the few.

There are many losers in this equation and not many winners.  It is stated that we are saving lives, and we are from the virus, but how many suicides are happening? How many child abuse cases are going unreported because the children are not attending school or after school programming where these cases are usually identified? There are now are over 1 million Ohioans on unemployment. Some laid-off workers are making more money on unemployment than they were working, thus no impetus to go back to work.

Rural areas should not be treated the same as municipalities. Most of Wayne County’s 25 deaths have come from two nursing homes. We should not be treated the same as Cleveland or Columbus or any other larger municipalities with a more dense population and much higher percentages.

Drastic measures were perhaps needed in the beginning, but those same measures are now bringing our state to its knees.

Wayne County Commissioner Becky Foster, President

Wayne County Commissioner Sue Smail

Wayne County Commissioner Ron Amstutz

 

Posted by Dan Starcher, public communications specialist for the Wayne County Government.