By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Less than a week till the start of the Wood County Fair, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued orders today that would effectively shut down much of the summertime tradition that normally attracts more than 100,000 people.
After COVID-19 outbreaks linked to county fairs elsewhere in the state, and after officials at some fairs refused to follow safety measures, DeWine said county fairs from here on out must be limited to just junior fair events.
That means no grandstand events, no rides and no games.
“Our goal this summer, in spite of COVID-19, was to hold these fairs,” DeWine said during his press conference this afternoon.
“Our goal was to focus on the young people,” specifically those youth involved in 4-H and FFA, he said. “Our goal was to preserve the county fairs for that purpose.”
But the virus was not cooperative – and neither were the fair boards in some counties.
Following a 19-case coronavirus outbreak linked to a county fair in Ohio, DeWine said last week that fair managers across Ohio must follow safety guidelines or risk being shut down.
“We’ve seen outbreaks connected with fairs,” he said.
The governor had asked that county fairs discourage the congregating of large groups of people.
“We’ve seen photos of packed grandstands and little social distancing,” DeWine said last week. “We want fairs to continue, but I expressed in the phone call today that fairs must follow the rules.”
Even after the governor issued a mask requirement, some fairs failed to comply.
“We saw fairs that are clearly not enforcing mask orders,” he said.
Earlier this summer, the state gave $50,000 to each county fair to help with safety measures against the virus.
“Some of the fairs have done a good job,” Dewine said, specifically pointing out Union County, which decided early on to just have a junior fair.
“It’s become increasingly clear that we cannot have a regular safe fair in the COVID summer of 2020,” the governor said.
For any county fair starting on Friday or later, just junior fairs are allowed. That includes Wood County’s fair, which is scheduled for Aug. 3 to 10.
There will be no grandstand events, no rides, no games, and a 10 p.m. curfew. Harness racing can proceed, but with no spectators.
Locally, most large events have already been canceled – including the National Tractor Pull, Black Swamp Arts Festival, Firefly Nights, Pemberville Free Fair, and Grand Rapids Applebutter Fest.
The consequences of behaviors at fairs will reach far beyond the events themselves, the governor said today.
“What we do at county fairs and this summer will determine what fall is like,” DeWine said. The fate of schools and the economy in Ohio could rest on the safety measures taken at fairs, he said.
Guidance for fairs is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
