Process underway for limited release of Ohio prison inmates

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The process is underway for a limited release of some Ohio prisoners to help provide room for social distancing, and the state hospital association has shared guidelines for how to allocate scare resources.

A look at coronavirus-related developments in Ohio on Wednesday:

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

The process is underway for a limited release of just over 200 Ohio prisoners, including pregnant inmates or women with children with them behind bars, inmates over 60, and prisoners eligible for early release because their sentences are nearly done. No violent or sex offenders would be released, nor would inmates with poor prison records or domestic violence convictions, or those who were previously imprisoned. Ohio houses about 49,000 inmates.

In Ohio, 14 inmates had tested positive as of Tuesday, most at Marion and Pickaway correctional facilities. At least 27 staff members at four prisons have tested positive, but most at Marion, state officials said. Five of the 28 prisons are now under full quarantine.

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CARE

The Ohio Hospital Association released guidelines for how hospitals can allocate scarce resources, including ways to implement a triage group to determine who should receive resources when they’re not available for all patients.

In central Ohio, 44 staff members agreed to live in two assisted-living facilities, The Inn at Chapel Grove in Heath and The Inn at SharonBrooke in Newark, to reduce the risk of exposure to residents, The Advocate reported.

“I never thought in my whole nursing career that this would even happen, but I came to realize that in my entire nursing career, this is the time that they’re going to need me the most,” nurse Alisha Disbennett told the newspaper.

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CASES

Nearly 4,800 people in Ohio have tested positive for the coronavirus and 167 people have died, with more than 1,300 hospitalizations as of Tuesday, according to the state health department.

For most people, COVID-19 displays mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can be more severe, causing pneumonia or death.

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ECONOMY

With state revenue falling, Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda said the crisis will force a reevaluation of Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio program, which was to begin offering farmers financial incentives this year to voluntarily adopt new agriculture practices to improve water quality throughout Ohio. Nearly 2,000 farmers applied to enroll more than 1.1 million acres, Pelanda said.

Following their mid-March closures, the state’s casinos and racinos reported a $112 million revenue drop in March compared with one year ago, a 61% drop-off, according to the lottery and casino control commissions.

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THE NEW NORMAL

The city of Blue Ash in suburban Cincinnati joined a long list of communities cancelling events into mid-June, including the city’s Memorial Day parade and a children’s theater production.

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Associated Press writer Mark Gillispie in Cleveland contributed to this report.