hools closed in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic will reopen in a few months, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

“We fully intend to have school in the fall,” he said Tuesday.

The date for starting school “is solely in the power of the local school boards,” DeWine added.

On March 12, the state ordered schools closed until April 3 because of the pandemic. That was then extended to May 1 and then through the rest of this school year.

The state is developing “broad guidelines” on health protocols for school districts, he said.

“It’s a work in progress,” said DeWine, who added it’s not yet ready.

He said he doesn’t know where the pandemic is heading — so anything said now “could be washed away by new facts.”

But DeWine said the “goal is to have kids in the classroom.”

PROTESTS AND POLICE

DeWine spoke during a Tuesday news conference about racial disparities.

Protests nationwide have ensued since the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African-American, when Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has since been fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

In some cases, including in Ohio, there has been vandalism and violence by protesters and, in others, law enforcement has used force, including tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.

“Protests expressing outrage are not only understandable, but they are appropriate,” DeWine said. “The vast majority of demonstrators are peaceful. They want to talk and get attention on very legitimate issues. It is a few violent individuals who are drowning out the voices of reason.”

There must be improvements, DeWine said, to law enforcement access to “quality training,” enhancing “transparency between the police and public,” recruiting more minorities to serve as police officers, and adding more oversight to Ohio’s law enforcement agencies “to ensure accountability.”

“We are going to continue to make sure that our law enforcement officers have the proper training on implicit bias,” said DeWine, who spent eight years as attorney general before becoming governor in January 2019. “We’re going to do more on de-escalation training for police officers, and we’re going to do more to create best practices for police departments on the use of force.”

DeWine said that “race is indisputably a factor in all kinds of health, education and economic disparities. The division of race has plagued this country since its inception. While there are no simple solutions, we must be a positive voice in advancing change for all who are marginalized.”

DeWine also announced Tuesday that all surgeries could resume with guidelines that create a plan for conserving and maintaining adequate inventories of personal protective equipment, supplies, equipment and medicine.

He also said he would have an announcement Thursday on reopening zoos, museums and other similar facilities adding that “it will be good news.”

COVID-19 DATA

Meanwhile, there were eight COVID-19 deaths reported in Mahoning County on Tuesday.

With the six Mahoning Valley deaths reported Monday — four in Mahoning and two in Trumbull counties — there were 14 reported fatalities in the past two days. There were 13 reported COVID-19 deaths all of last week in the Valley.

Overall, there were 289 COVID-19 deaths in the Valley as of Tuesday: 186 in Mahoning, 50 in Trumbull and 53 in Columbiana counties.

There were 2,258 COVID-19 deaths in the state as of Tuesday, up from 2,206 a day earlier.

There were 36,350 confirmed cases of the virus in Ohio on Tuesday, up from 35,984 Monday.

There were 1,458 cases in Mahoning County on Tuesday, up from 1,444 Monday.

There were 584 cases in Trumbull County on Tuesday, up from 581 Monday.

In Columbiana County, there were 881 cases Tuesday, up from 875 a day earlier.

Statewide, 6,176 people have been hospitalized as of Tuesday because of the virus, up from 6,112 Monday.

There have been 1,583 people in intensive-care units Tuesday, up from 1,569 the prior day.

COVID-19 by the numbers

The number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in counties in the region and statewide as of Tuesday:

County Cases Hospitalizations Deaths

Mahoning 1,458 313 186

Trumbull 584 181 50

Columbiana 881 133 53

Ohio 36,350 6,176 2,258

SOURCE: Ohio Department of Health