Lots of moving parts this Tuesday afternoon for the Coronavirus update. We'll start with the City of toledo announcement that all City of Toledo points of access for customer service will be closed and all city-owned community centers and park shelter houses will be closed for non-essential services effective March 18. All city offices at One Government Center will be closed to the public. Engage Toledo remains open 24 hours a day to take calls and can be reached at 419-936-2020, the mayor said.
Toledo Public Utilities customers are encouraged to pay water bills online at this link: WATER BILL All late fees for water bills have been suspended.
Information on how to pay city taxes online can be found at this link: TAX PAYMENTS
“We continue to ask residents to only use the 911 system for true emergent situations, including structure fires, motor vehicle accidents, life threatening injuries, or medical emergencies such as, but not limited to, heart attack, stroke, severe respiratory symptoms, or allergic reactions,” Assistant Fire Chief John Kaminski said. “If you do call 911 for any reason, please let the 911 call taker know if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms. Using the 911 system for only true emergent situations helps us lessen the exposure rate for firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, and healthcare workers who continue to be on the front lines.”
The city-owned community centers that will be closed for nonessential services include the East Toledo Family Center, the Aurora Gonzales Community and Family Resource Center,the Sofia Quintero Art and Culture Center,Friendship Park Community Center,the Frederick Douglass Community Center, and the Toledo Police Athletic League Building.
City-owned senior centers – includingthe East Toledo Senior Center, the Chester J. Zablocki Senior Community Center, andthe Eleanor Kahle Senior Center– are closed by order of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Regarding the Federal Government - President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House, promised to help thousands of workers facing furloughs and layoffs. Among options being considered:$1,000 checks to almost all adult Americans, he said. Trump urged everyone to remain vigilant – stay at home as much as possible, limit gatherings to 10 people – for at least two more weeks. While the press conference was going on the Dow rallied nearly 1,000 points, after sustaining historic losses on Monday.
Vice-President Mike Pence, leading the coronavirus response team, said that testing is now available in all 50 states, and announced that “state health authorities can now authorize labs in their state and expand existing testing capabilities.”
Elsewhere numerous American cities including Toledo are experincing some form of lockdown. San Francisco is the most dramatic so far with Six Bay Area counties issuing a shelter in place order effective at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, that will shut down or drastically alter most aspects of public life.
Beaches in Florida and elsewhere are seeing limits placed on number of people allowed and more than half the states have canceled schools for some length of time.
Here's the latest press conference from the Trump administration.
Continue to listen to updates each half hour on 1370 WSPD on air, online, and on home assistants like Google and Alexa.