File #: 202002310    Version: 1
Type: Statement Status: Filed
File created: 12/16/2020 In control: Cincinnati City Council
On agenda: 5/5/2021 Final action: 5/5/2021
ORD/RES# date: ORD/RES#:
Title: STATEMENT, (DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY) submitted by Mayor John Cranley, City Manager Paula Boggs Muething, and Commissioner Melba Moore, In response to the public danger arising from verified cases of contagion of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic, and based in part upon the declaration of a statewide emergency in Ohio by Governor DeWine, I declared a public emergency pursuant to Article III of the Cincinnati Charter and Article XVIII of the Administrative Code of the City of Cincinnati in March 2020. The March 2020 Declaration of Emergency was followed by emergency orders addressing public health concerns and related City operational needs that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. After declaring a state of emergency and instituting severe measures to "flatten the curve" - including a broad stay-at-home order - rates of infection dropped. The State of Ohio began to reopen Ohio's economy, sector by sector, in accordance with good hygiene and social distancing measures. In consul...
Sponsors: Mayor, City Manager
Attachments: 1. Statement

title

STATEMENT, (DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY) submitted by Mayor John Cranley, City Manager Paula Boggs Muething, and Commissioner Melba Moore, In response to the public danger arising from verified cases of contagion of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic, and based in part upon the declaration of a statewide emergency in Ohio by Governor DeWine, I declared a public emergency pursuant to Article III of the Cincinnati Charter and Article XVIII of the Administrative Code of the City of Cincinnati in March 2020. The March 2020 Declaration of Emergency was followed by emergency orders addressing public health concerns and related City operational needs that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. After declaring a state of emergency and instituting severe measures to “flatten the curve” - including a broad stay-at-home order - rates of infection dropped. The State of Ohio began to reopen Ohio’s economy, sector by sector, in accordance with good hygiene and social distancing measures. In consultation with the City Manager and the Health Commissioner, I replaced the March 2020 declaration with a new Emergency Declaration that was consistent with the State’s reopening efforts. The June 2020 order was tailored to the State’s reopening phase of the pandemic response. Rates remained steady for much of the summer due to the diligence of our citizens and business in wearing masks and engaging in social distancing; we were optimistic that as a City we might have turned the corner on the pandemic. With the advent of cooler weather, the City of Cincinnati, the State of Ohio, and the country are all experiencing a new, pervasive, and more dangerous wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of Ohio is breaking contagion records from the spring and summer on an almost daily basis, and the resulting cases threaten to overwhelm the health care system if not abated. Multiple states have issued new lockdown orders, and Governor DeWine has warned that extreme measures will be required in Ohio if the State doesn’t change its trajectory for the better. This rapidly worsening COVID-19 wave requires a new mayoral declaration of emergency to allow for a rapid response to increasing cases as the holidays and winter conditions will again test the City’s economic, social, and public health systems. By this Declaration the Mayor, in consultation with the City Manager and the Health Commissioner, declares a public danger and emergency under Article III of the Cincinnati Charter and Article XVIII of the Administrative Code. In so doing, the Mayor has emergency authority to take such steps as may be necessary to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the City and to assist with the rapid delivery of vaccines that may become available in the coming months. This declaration is consistent with the statewide health emergency declared by Governor DeWine, the issuance of Ohio Department of Health’s compulsory health orders and related guidelines, and the fundamental need to protect vulnerable populations during this pandemic. This Order supersedes the continuing June 29, 2020 emergency declaration as to any conflicts. All emergency orders issued under the June 29 declaration are hereby reissued. This declaration and related emergency orders shall continue in effect in accordance with the terms of Article XVIII of the Administrative Code. This amended and revised declaration shall be issued to the news media for the widest possible dissemination to the citizens of Cincinnati. DECLARED this 16th day of November 2020.

recommendation

CONSENT & FILE