Muskingum Co. Joint Unified Command Center meets for weekly COVID-19 update

ZANESVILLE – There has been an increase in the number of cases in Muskingum County and the Department of Health says community spread of the virus is evident.

The Health Department’s Medical Director Dr. Jack Butterfield also spoke about his thoughts on mass gatherings for protests that have been seen around the United States.

“I think its very dangerous. Protesting is a protected right under the First Amendment in the United States and I get that, I understand that, and I support it. Unfortunately, when you watch the news reels, you can see that the vast majority of people are not social distancing, they’re not wearing facial coverings, and that, combined with the holiday combined with all the social gathering that most likely happened, I am just concerned that we see a substantial surge not just nationwide but locally as well,” Butterfield said.

Also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting was the reopening of child care centers on May 31st. Facilities who choose to re-open will be under strict guidelines.

“They’re going to have to sanitize more. The have to take temperatures of anyone entering their building or their childcare home and if its 100 degrees or more, they cannot enter the building. They have to wash all of the kids’ hands upon entry of the home or into that classroom. When they leave, I believe they have to wash the children’s hands too so that may delay parents who may have been used to quickly dropping their kids off; they need to kind of think and plan but they’re not going to be able to do that right away because this is going to be something that changes,” Muskingum County JFS’ Childcare Supervisor Laura Morrison said.

The state is not requiring providers to wear a mask but Morrison stressed that they are highly recommended.