On Thursday, March 12, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine announced that Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH has signed an order to prohibit mass gatherings in the state of Ohio.
Mass gatherings are defined as any event or convening that brings together 100 or more persons in a single room or single space at the same time such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theater, or any other confined indoor or outdoor space. This would include parades, fairs and festivals.
Mass gatherings does not include normal operations of airports, bus and train stations, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and centers, or other spaces where 100 or more persons may be in transit. It also does not include typical office environments, schools, restaurants, factories, or retail/grocery stores where large numbers of people are present, but it is unusual for them to be within arm’s length of one another.
Additional exclusions are listed in the full Ohio Department of Health order.
This order took effect immediately and will remain until the state of emergency declared by the governor has been rescinded or modified. For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
In light of the governor's expected announcement and members' feedback, yesterday morning, OSAE canceled its Q1 Luncheon Meeting and Workshop. Over the next week, registrants will receive additional information as it relates to the event and how OSAE intends to provide the educational aspect via other methods.
OSAE understand that many of you are encountering this problem right now on various levels. We want to thank all of you for your commitment to doing what's best for your members/clients and for working with your peers to move us forward in this time of uncertainty. We are in uncharted waters.
We will continue to monitor the situations around COVID-19, which can be found on both our news page and our COVID-19 Resource page on our website.
Thank you for your continued investment in OSAE - your association - and in bettering the future of tomorrow's association community!
Warmest regards,
Jarrod A. Clabaugh, CAE
President & CEO, OSAE/OSAE Foundation