“There was a lot of anticipation from a lot of us about whether or not the governor was going to let us go on this year,” Blair said. “There were a lot of things that we had already set in motion for this year, we’re so looking forward to it.”
DeWine announced last week that counties statewide could hold full fairs with only some limitations, like face masks and social distancing. That’s a big change from last year, where spectators to events like junior animal showings were significantly cut or altogether eliminated.
“We expect to have full county fairs this year. We will have to wear masks and we’ll have to be careful, but the county fairs should take place throughout the state of Ohio,” DeWine said visiting the Clark County Combined Health District’s vaccination clinic last week. “We’re really looking forward to having a different spring and summer than we’ve had in the past year. The vaccine and the masks are what enabled us to do this.”
But DeWine noted that more health orders could be lifted once Ohio gets further into the fair season — if the state is able to control the virus.
The governor announced two weeks ago that if the state can get below 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, all public health orders, including the mask mandate, will be lifted. As of Thursday, when new data on cases per 100,000 people is released, Meigs and Vinton counties were the only two counties in the state below 50 cases per 100,000.
Clark County had 172 cases per 100,000.
Blair said even with health orders in place he’s excited about being able to offer once again the “full fair experience” especially to children who might have missed out on showing last year.
“I’m just so excited for everything that we have got in place, and for the kids and their animal projects and knowing that they are going to get to have the experience of a full fair. That is absolutely the number one priority and we’re happy to be able to have that,” Blair said.
DeWine is slated to reveal specific rules and regulations around large gatherings like county fairs, graduations, proms and parades today.
Clark County had 12,622 cases and 272 deaths of the coronavirus as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Ohio reported fewer than 2,000 daily cases of the coronavirus for 14 straight days, according to ODH. In the last 21 days, Ohio has only reported more than 2,000 cases a day twice.
The state recorded 1,458 cases on Wednesday for a total of 993,681.
Almost 2.5 million people have started the vaccination process in Ohio, and 1,450,278 people have completed it, as of Wednesday, according to ODH. About 21.35% of Ohio residents have received a first dose of the vaccine and about 12.4% have been completely vaccinated.
In Clark County, 30,557 residents had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Wednesday. That’s about 22.7% of the county’s population, according to ODH. Over 15% of the county’s population has been fully vaccinated.
Facts & Figures:
50: Cases per 100,000 people required by Gov. Mike DeWine to lift all public health orders, including the mask mandate
172: Cases per 100,000 in Clark County, as of Thursday
15: Percentage of Clark County’s population that is fully vaccinated against COVID-19
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