NewsCoronavirus

Actions

Ben Asks a Question: Will Ohioans be required to wear masks?

Posted at 10:50 PM, Apr 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-20 22:50:19-04

COLUMBUS — We’ve flattened the curve, and someday soon it will be time to start planning to return to normal life.

But with the CDC recommending the use of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many Ohioans like WCPO viewer Valieria Milner wonder if the state will require them to wear masks as they return to work and go out in public again.

Ben Asks a Question is a feature we started as a way to help give you a voice during Gov. Mike DeWine's daily press briefings. Since then, Ben has gotten hundreds of questions a day. If you'd like to ask a question, find us on Facebook and feel free to message us there, or send us an email at newsdesk@wcpo.com.

Gov. Mike DeWine left open the possibility of making it mandatory for people to wear masks in public.

"It just makes sense that anyone in public wears a mask,” DeWine said. “It is more for the protection of everyone else than for you, but if everyone's doing it then it's reciprocal. That and social distancing will make a difference."

Ohio will start the process of reopening on May 1, but the governor warns life will not resume as normal for a while.

"As we try to get people back to work, everybody's going to have to do some things that we haven't done before," DeWine said.