Ohio will start requiring businesses in the state to report how many ventilators and “other machines and devices that provide breathing assistance” they have in their possession.
On Monday, Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton issued an order demanding weekly online reporting of these devices.
On Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the directive, the latest action state officials say they are taking to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Businesses such as manufacturers, retailers and distributors must report their inventory along with physicians, hospitals and other medical facilities. In addition to ventilators, the state is requiring organizations to indicate how many CPAP, BiPAP and anesthetic machines they have along with treatment masks and tubing.
“This will allow for the identification and re-distribution of machines from healthcare providers who are no longer performing elective procedures,” DeWine said in a news release. “It also will help our regional hospital collaboratives by giving them information on the availability of these machines in their regions.”
Organizations must submit their inventory by 5 p.m. every Wednesday. The state granted exemptions for ventilators for personal use and for devices that are currently passing through Ohio in transit to and from other states.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 2,199 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 55 deaths in Ohio, state officials said.
The inventory announcement comes as DeWine said he is mandating state employees to continue to work remotely as much as possible through at least May 1.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an order prohibiting water systems from disconnecting a resident’s water service because of nonpayment during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
The EPA order also requires water systems to reconnect water for residents whose water was shut off at any point since Jan. 1. While there will be no fee for a reconnection, customers must pay their water bill moving forward.
“We’ve made difficult decisions, but we have to get through this,” DeWine said on Twitter, echoing previous statements he’s offered. “We can’t let this monster come up – we have to keep pushing it down. This is a critical time. We haven’t had anything like this for 102 years, so it has to be that type of response.”
