Feb. 3: State and county officials announce during a Super Bowl Sunday press conference at Miami University that two students who recently returned from China test negative for the coronavirus.
March 9: Gov. Mike DeWine reports three people in Cuyahoga County have test positive for COVID-19, the first in the state. He declares a state emergency.
March 12: State bans mass gatherings.
March 13: General Health District. Health Commissioner Jenny Bailer announces Butler County has reported its first coronavirus case.
March 15: DeWine closes bars, restaurants.
March 16: Schools close and students take virtual classes from home.
March 17: The primary was delayed until April 28 and there was limited in-person voting.
March 18: First COVID-19 death is reported in Ohio.
March 23: DeWine issues state-at-home orders.
March 29: An 86-year-old Hamilton man becomes the first recorded death in Butler County from the coronavirus.
April 2: DeWine extends the K-12 school closure through the end of April. He and Health Director Acton extend the state’s stay-at-home order through May 1. This order includes guidance for stores to maintain social distance and cut occupancy.
April 10: Protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse demand the reopening of Ohio. Their signs read, “Stop the tyranny,” “Survival is not living,” and “Quarantine worse than virus.” DeWine says the protests were permitted under the state’s stay-at-home order as First Amendment protected speech.
April 16: DeWine announces his intent to start gradually restarting Ohio’s economy on May 1. The same day, the Ohio Department of Health says there are 8,414 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in the state, resulting in 389 deaths and 2,331 hospitalizations.
April 20: DeWine says K-12 school buildings will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.
April 29: DeWine gives school districts three options for graduation: virtual ceremonies, drive-in ceremonies, or events with 10 or fewer people at a time.
May 1: Ohio tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths.
May 12: Consumer, retail and services open.
May 15: Hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and tattoo parlors can reopen. Restaurants and bars are allowed to provide outdoor service.
May 21: Restaurants and bars can begin serving guests indoors. Campgrounds also reopen.
May 26: Ohio Bureau of Motor vehicles locations, gyms, dance studios, swimming and aquatic centers are permitted to open. Non-contact and limited contact sports leagues can resume.
May 31: Day cares and day camps resume operations with temperature screenings and limitations on class size.
June 1: Catering centers and banquets halls are allowed to reopen with a maximum of 300 people.
June 11: Dr. Amy Acton steps down as state health director.
June 22: Practice for full-contact sports, including football, basketball and lacrosse, resumes. All coaches, players, trainers, officials and spectators must conduct heath assessments each day.
July 1: Dayton becomes the first major city in Ohio to require residents to wear masks while in public spaces and outdoors when social distancing isn’t possible.
July 2: DeWine introduces the Public Health Advisory Alert System, a color-coded system for coronavirus risk in the state’s 88 counties. There are seven indicators, including new cases per capita, sustained increase in new cases, proportion of cases that are not in congregate settings and sustained increase in COVID-19 hospital admissions.
July 7: DeWine makes masks mandatory in public for the seven Ohio counties with higher risk for coronavirus: Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery and Trumbull. These are the counties in Level 3 of the Public Health Advisory System.
July 10: Butler County leaders hold a press conference to announce that 150,000 free masks will be available to Butler residents at local fire departments and businesses.
July 22: DeWine announces masks will be mandatory in public places across the state.
July 30: Middletown City Schools District suspends all fall sports and extra-curricular activities. It’s the first area district to make the announcement.
July 31: The Ohio Liquor Control Commission moves up last call for alcohol in bars and restaurants. The sale of alcohol must end at 10 p.m. Establishments not abiding by the order face citations.
Aug. 4: DeWine announces an order requiring masks for all students returning to school in grades K-12.
Aug. 6: Prior to meeting President Donald Trump in Cleveland, DeWine tests positive for coronavirus and returns to Columbus. During a second test, his results come back negative.
Aug. 21: DeWine announces an order for reopening theaters. The order will say that interior venue attendance will be capped at the lesser of 15 percent of their fixed-seated capacity or 300 people, while outdoor venue attendance will be capped at the lesser of 15 percent of their fixed seating capacity or 1,500 people.
Aug. 23: The Madison Inn in Butler County is cited for selling alcohol after the governor’s 10 p.m. curfew and receives an administrative citation for limitation on hours for on-premises consumption.
Aug. 24: Middletown reinstates fall sports and extra-curricular activities.
Aug. 26: The Ohio Department of Health announces 4,044 people in the state have died from coronavirus.
Sept. 5: A variance will allow 6,000 fans at Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns games for the first two homes games of the season. Only 1,500 fans will be allowed on each side of the stadium per game.
Sept. 10: DeWine says cases among Miami University students are a significant cause for Butler County remaining at Level 3 in the state’s public health advisory system. From Aug. 26 to Sept. 8, Miami University has reported 1,040 COVID-19 coronavirus cases among students.
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