Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, August 25:
- Daily COVID cases surpass 4K, 60% have received 1 vaccine dose
- OSU requires vaccines
- Hudson, other schools reverse mask policies
- Southern Ohio school district closes following COVID outbreak
- Vaccination bill met with support as testimony begins
- Flood prevention project planned in Independence
- Suspected gang members arrested in Canton
Daily COVID cases surpass 4K, 60% have received 1 vaccine dose
(WKSU) -- New coronavirus cases on Tuesday jumped past 4,000 for the first time since January in Ohio. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions also spiked, with more than 2,000 people currently being treated, more than 600 of them serious cases. State health officials did have some good news to report Tuesday: 60% of Ohioans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
OSU requires vaccines
(WKSU) -- Ohio State University is requiring all students, faculty, and staff to receive COVID-19 vaccines, becoming the first public university in the state to do so after the FDA approved the Pfizer shot for the coronavirus. OSU President Kristina Johnson says everyone in the campus community must have at least one dose by Oct. 15. Current students who refuse to be vaccinated without an exemption by the deadline won’t be permitted to take in-person classes or live in residence halls beginning the spring semester. In July, Cleveland State University required all students living on campus to be fully vaccinated by the time they arrive on campus.
Hudson, other schools reverse mask policies
(WKSU) -- Several Summit County schools have reversed their policies on mask-wearing as COVID-19 cases among children rise in Ohio. Hudson City Schools on Monday voted to require masks be worn in buildings. Twinsburg and Nordonia Hills schools also changed course and are now requiring masks. Akron, Cleveland, and Canton public schools had already mandated masks be worn inside buildings.
Southern Ohio school district closes following COVID outbreak
(Cleveland.com) -- A school district in southern Ohio with one of the highest COVID transmission rates has ended classes for the week after nearly 15% of students were out sick. Cleveland.com reports that the superintendent of Fairfield Local in Highland County says the percentage is likely higher with additional students under quarantine. Just under one-third of Highland County residents are vaccinated.
Vaccination bill met with support as testimony begins
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- A controversial bill to prevent public and private entities from requiring vaccinations and would prevent vaccine passports was met with rousing support as lawmakers heard testimony on it Tuesday. Hundreds gathered outside the Statehouse, holding signs and cheering, to support the bill sponsored by Republican Jennifer Gross. Others gathered inside an overflow room and when Gross walked into the room, she was met with applause. Dozens of people testified for more than four hours in a hearing that Democrats say included a lot of misinformation. Republican Health Committee chair Scott Lipps said more than a thousand people and groups have offered testimony for and against the bill. Speaker Bob Cupp says he and other lawmakers will use this testimony and talk to interested parties to determine what should happen to the bill when the House returns from its break on September 14.
Flood prevention project planned in Independence
(WKSU) -- A major flood prevention project has been approved to help keep the Cuyahoga River within its banks in a flood-prone area of Independence. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city will begin design work this fall on the $8 million project. The plan is to build a half-mile-long levee and an 800-foot concrete floodwall along the river’s west bank near the central interchange. It’s expected to protect 52 acres of the city prone to flooding from the Cuyahoga. Engineers say the project will not cause flooding elsewhere. Construction could begin in two to three years.
Suspected gang members arrested in Canton
(WKSU) -- More than a dozen alleged Canton-area gang members have been arrested following a two-year federal investigation. The group called ‘Shorb Blocc’ is accused of murder, assault, and witness intimidation, along with drug trafficking. Canton’s police chief says the arrests mark one of the largest assaults on organized violent street gangs in the city’s history.
