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Open Ohio and Protect the Most Vulnerable
By Jena Powell
State Representative, 80th District
Over the last seven months, our community, state, nation, and world have been dealing with the novel coronavirus.
At the beginning, our state made bold decisions because we didn’t know
all the risk associated with COVID-19. So we stayed in our homes to
protect our community until we gained knowledge about the pandemic
risks.
As months have gone by, thankfully the virus is not as deadly as was once predicted.
My push, after the initial panic, has been to open Ohio and protect the
most vulnerable. The Ohio House, in fact, has passed a dozen measures
designed to support small businesses, first responders, health care
workers, our schools and more. This includes SB 1, legislation to limit
orders issued by the state health director to only 14 days without
legislative extension approval. Governor DeWine vetoed this bill.
The legislature must change state law in order to provide checks and
balances upon the power of the executive branch during a public health
emergency.
Long-term consequences of the economic shutdowns for many have become worse than the virus itself.
Over the next several weeks, we will be seeing a large rise in COVID-19
cases across our state and nation. This will be due to more testing,
more people congregating inside as the weather gets colder, and the
normal ebbs and flows of a virus.
As a community, we do not let fear rule our lives. We must protect the
most vulnerable among us. We must work to contain the virus while
continuing to live our lives.
The CDC and Governor DeWine have changed the COVID guidelines many times over the past year.
As I have said repeatedly since April, the secondary effects of the
coronavirus are proving to be far worse than the coronavirus itself.
This will continue being true. Consider the following:
We’ve had huge increases in suicide, mental illness, and opioid
overdoses. We have seen a 178% increase in drug overdose calls to the
Troy Fire Department. The House, Senate, and Administration have worked
hard combating the opioid epidemic over the past five years, but now
one epidemic is causing the rise of another.
We are seeing a rise in suicide in our community. Troy alone has experienced a 267% increase in suicide calls this year.
According to a summer CDC survey, 24.7% of 18-24 year olds and 19.5% of
25-44 year olds started or increased substance use to cope with
pandemic-related stress or emotions. The same survey, taken at the end
of June, found that 25.5% of 18-24 year olds and 16.0% of 25-44 year
olds had seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days.
The secondary effects for many are far worse than the virus itself. I
will continue pushing against the government overreach that the
executive branch has taken during this time of crisis. They expanded
their own agenda instead of 1) allowing people to choose for themselves
and 2) letting the legislature have a voice. We must change state
law in order to limit the powers of the executive branch during an
emergency, improve legislative oversight and protect the rights of all
Ohioans. We will continue to work on legislation that will provide key
checks and balances to the Administration.
We must protect the most vulnerable among us while restoring the freedom of the people of Ohio.
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