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Former equity chief accused Ohio Department of Health of ‘toxic’ and ‘discriminatory’ culture
After a drawn-out drafting process, the Ohio Department of Health’s top spokeswoman agreed to stamp ODH’s name on a statement with the Ohio NAACP and Commission on Minority Health correcting a myth that racial minorities are less susceptible to COVID-19. However, communications director Arundi Venkayya clarified in an April 1, 2020 email that ODH would […]
Inside Ohio Republicans’ 10-month war on the state health department over COVID-19
Ohioans were living with the coronavirus for about two months before GOP lawmakers initiated what would be a nearly yearlong effort to squash the state health department’s ability to issue public health orders. The earliest version of the idea was to limit any order issued by the Ohio Department of Health to a two-week window. […]
Pandemic brings protests, and guns, to officials’ personal homes
First came protests outside the home of then-state health director Dr. Amy Acton. There were guns, a police presence, anti-vaccine activists, a man in Proud Boys apparel on a motorcycle, and another man wielding an anti-Semitic sign, all cluttering the sidewalks outside Acton’s bucolic suburban home. Since then, members of “Moms Against DeWine,” some of […]
COVID-19 protesters gather outside Ohio GOP Senate leader’s home, seeking veto override
Protesters gathered outside GOP Senate President Larry Obhof’s personal home Sunday seeking to pressure him to override a gubernatorial veto of legislation to weaken the health department. Although Senate Bill 311 passed with a veto-proof majority, the activists accused Obhof of stalling an effort to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of the bill. The legislation […]
DeWine hires attorney with thin public health background to lead health department
Gov. Mike DeWine hired an attorney to lead the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday, a position that has remained vacant for the past five months of the pandemic. Stephanie McCloud, who currently runs the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, will take over a position that has been filled on only an interim basis since […]
The CDC sent Ohio a broken COVID-19 test kit in February, letting a virus run wild
On Jan. 2, symptoms kicked in around Ohio for the state’s first residents with COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus that has infected more than 150,000 residents. In Ohio, the pandemic had begun — we just didn’t know it yet. The early infections, which would only be detected via antibody testing long after […]