Here are your morning headlines for Monday, December 21:
- Ohio surpasses 8K COVID-19 deaths
- Ohio to receive smaller 2nd week vaccine supply
- Ohio spent $55M in early 2020 on gowns, 3 million from China
- Parma Heights restaurant receives 3rd COVID health citation
- DeWine hints he’ll veto gun bill
- Divided court dismisses challenge to Ohio bump stock ban
- Mayfield, Browns move closer to playoffs, top Giants 20-6
Ohio surpasses 8K COVID-19 deaths
Ohio surpassed 8,000 total COVID-19 deaths over the weekend. New cases on Sunday were around 8,375, which is less than the three-week average of nearly 10,000. There are roughly 4,750 Ohioans hospitalized with COVID-19, including another 194 hospitalized on Sunday. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Cuyahoga County, the state's second-most-populous county, where about 1.2 million people live, continues to report the most cumulative hospitalizations and deaths.
Ohio to receive smaller 2nd week vaccine supply
Ohio says the next weekly shipment of its Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will be lower than previously estimated. The Department of Health says previous estimates for the second full week of Pfizer vaccines were about 123,000 doses. The current allocation is about 70,200. Meanwhile, Moderna’s vaccine received the FDA’s emergency use authorization on Friday. Gov. Mike DeWine said Ohio is scheduled to receive a shipment of 201,000 Moderna vaccines on Tuesday and 89,000 from Moderna by the end of December. The first shipment will go to 98 hospitals and 108 health departments to vaccinate frontline workers.
Ohio spent $55M in early 2020 on gowns, 3 million from China
An Associated Press tally shows that more than half the $98 million Ohio spent on personal protective equipment and ventilators in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic went to buy hospital gowns. That included the purchase of 3 million gowns from an Ohio-based marketing and printing company that got them from a manufacturer in China. The state also made two gown orders totaling $6 million from La La Land Production. That is a Los Angeles-based manufacturer that said it pivoted from high-end fashion products to personal protective equipment in an effort to “to save lives and livelihoods.”
Parma Heights restaurant receives 3rd COVID health citation
A restaurant in Parma Heights has received its third citation for violating the state’s COVID-19 health orders. Sky Mediterranean Lounge was cited Friday night for disorderly activity, after authorities said they saw about 75 patrons eating, drinking and smoking hookah without any social distancing measures in place. Popular Lakewood bar Around the Corner was also cited Friday night. Patrons were seen congregating with no social distancing.
DeWine hints he’ll veto gun bill
As state lawmakers return for a final week of their lame duck session, Gov. Mike DeWine is hinting he’ll veto a controversial gun bill they sent to him last week. Lawmakers in the Ohio Senate on Friday approved changes to the Senate bill that would eliminate the duty to retreat before shooting in self-defense, often called “stand your ground.” In a call with reporters this weekend, DeWine said he’d have a lot more to say about the bill this week. The Stand Your Ground bill didn’t pass by a veto proof majority in either chamber, and there isn’t much time for a veto override anyway.
Divided court dismisses challenge to Ohio bump stock ban
A divided Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to a now-repealed ordinance in Ohio’s capital city banning bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly. The state’s highest court ruled that two Ohio gun-rights groups, Ohioans for Concealed Carry and Buckeye Firearms Foundation, had no standing to sue the city of Columbus. The court majority decided that the groups had suffered no harm in a case that the justices heard despite the fact that the Columbus City Council had repealed its ordinance a year ago.
Mayfield, Browns move closer to playoffs, top Giants 20-6
Baker Mayfield led two 95-yard touchdown drives and the Cleveland Browns moved closer to ending their 17-season playoff drought with a 20-6 victory over the New York Giants. Mayfield was 27 of 32 for 297 yards with scoring passes to Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper. Nick Chubb had a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that made the Browns the first team this season to have two 95-yard TD drives in a game. The win got the Browns closer to clinching their first playoff spot since 2002 which is the NFL’s longest drought. The Giants played without injured quarterback Daniel Jones.
