With the world careening as the coronavirus continues to navigate the globe, with four more deaths announced today in Washington State as the disease escalates in the United States and the world economy quivering, and with many of our members inquiring about how to prepare for consequences in Ohio, it felt prudent to compile resources and guidance to share in this week’s Chamber Chatter.

On the public health side of things, I reached out to area health systems as well as local public health officials. Franklin County Public Health has published this litany of resources, and Columbus Public Health has followed suit.

On hand-washing specifically, OhioHealth directed me to this guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. OhioHealth has also published its own guide for teaching children how to wash their hands. Nationwide Children’s Hospital has this guide available for hand hygiene, too.

On the employment law side of things, Bricker & Eckler has published this guide for employers, and this guide for healthcare employers specifically, which is replete with good advice.

And lastly, this is calming counsel from a national expert from the Summa Health System in Akron:

“I think people are freaking out too much. I think there’s unnecessary hysteria when people are wearing masks and it’s not necessary. Right now, we’re much more concerned about the flu than the coronavirus. It’s obviously something to be concerned about, but there is no need to panic.”

In an age of misinformation, where 16% of beer-drinking Americans are confused as to whether there’s a connection between Corona beer and the coronavirus, it’s imperative for people to turn to facts and trusted sources for their information. Therefore, I hope the above links prove useful to you and your agencies as our community turns to you for guidance in the weeks to come.