Gov. Mike DeWine said the goal of having children return to in-person learning without interruption this year is at-risk as the state is seeing a continued surge of COVID-19 cases.
"Today in Ohio, we are facing a perfect storm, just as our kids are back to school," he said. "The new delta variant is sweeping across our state taking aim at all those who are unvaccinated."
The governor said things have worsened since he last held a press conference on Aug. 6 as the spread of the delta variant has dramatically accelerated in the last 10 days.
DeWine said the state is at the highest level of cases since February. On Tuesday, there were more than 3,000 new cases reported.
"If we look at cases per week over the past month, they went from over 2,000 during the Fourth of July week to over 13,000 last week," DeWine said. "That's over a 500% increase in cases."
During his press conference, DeWine said he wanted to reiterate the Ohio Department of Health's recommendation that children be vaccinated or wear a mask while in a classroom.
While DeWine says they are past the time when the state can mandate to parents and schools what actions to take, they have a moral obligation to lay out the facts.
"I'm speaking directly to every parent, school official, and school board member in Ohio: The best way to make sure a child can stay in school is for that child to be vaccinated," he said. "If a child can't be vaccinated, the best way to ensure a good school year is for that child to wear a mask while in class."
DeWine said the state has a great deal of experience with kids in masks this past school year but none when it comes to no masks during a pandemic.
"With the delta variant producing so many cases today, it will be very difficult to keep it out of the classroom and it will be impossible once it's in the classroom to keep it from spreading unless the students wear masks or are vaccinated," he said.
DeWine said the children in Ohio simply cannot afford another disruptive school year.
"We need them in the classroom. And the real tragedy of all of this, it's the children who will suffer when schools shut down. They're the ones who will get further and further behind,” he said.