During his coronavirus briefing, Gov. Mike DeWine addressed the spread of the virus and some help needed for the unemployment system.
Today is the first time Ohio has needed to borrow money from the federal government during the pandemic. A credit line of $3.1 billion was given to the state to cover unemployment payouts. As of now, there is no interest on it. It isn't the first time Ohio has borrowed like this. Over $3 billion was borrowed during the Great Recession and paid off in 2016. DeWine says other states have been forced to take the same action.
"That total exceeds what we think we will need to pay out these benefits," DeWine said. "It is essentially a line of credit. So, we ask for greater authority than we currently think we will need so that we have it just in case we do need it."
DeWine also revisited the R0 or "R naught" for Ohio, the rate at which one person passes on the virus. As of June 7, Ohio's R0 is .87, meaning one person passes the virus at a rate of less than one person. The western Ohio region down through west central Ohio has the lowest R0 in the state at .65 at this time.
