Ohio gov DeWine: 'I don't think anybody knows' when coronavirus restrictions will be lifted

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Outbreak has killed 3 inmates; Governor Mike DeWine responds.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told "Bill Hemmer Reports" Monday that he is trying to balance the needs of Ohioans who are out of work with advice from medical experts about how long the prolonged partial shutdown of the state due to coronavirus should continue.

"Just as we have put together a group of doctors to help us through this, we've also put together a group of CEOs around the state, small businesses, midsize, and big and they're advising us ... on how we get back to work," said DeWine, one of the first governors to limit public gatherings and close schools in response to the spread of the pandemic.

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The Republican emphasized that the final decisions about when to implement the restrictions have been his and his alone.

"These are my decisions, so I'm not going to pass the buck to the medical community or anybody else," he said.

DeWine added that he knows most Ohioans want to get back to their jobs and begin to work again, but also said physicians continue to be wary of when exactly the lifting of restrictions should take place.

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"These are not mutually exclusive goals," DeWine told host Bill Hemmer. "These are goals that are sequential. We've got to do everything we need to do to get through this and keep people alive. Then we have got to roll out.

"So, when we can we do that? I don't think anybody knows that. But, we're getting ready for that."

DeWine added that it remains unclear when sporting events, concerts and conventions can again take place in the state.