NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2020
Statement From Rob Walgate, Vice President of The American Policy Roundtable: Ohio Roundtable Files Legal Request on Ohio COVID Model
The Ohio Roundtable, a division of the American Policy Roundtable has filed a formal Freedom of Information request with Dr. Amy Acton of the Ohio Department of Health. The official request was sent by email yesterday April 2nd, with the hard copy letter sent the same day. The purpose of the request is to permit all Ohioans to “see the math” behind the construction of Dr. Acton’s latest model which is controlling public policy decisions in Ohio.
“From the start of this crisis, Dr. Acton’s models have driven public policy in Ohio”, stated Rob Walgate, Vice President of the American Policy Roundtable. “These policies are now creating tremendous hardships across the state at every level. Unemployment is skyrocketing, civil liberties are evaporating, people are being spied upon, harassed and threatened with arrest for standing too close to each other. And all of this is justified by Dr. Acton’s models and her singular focus to flatten the curve. In the process, her orders are flattening our economy, destroying people’s lives, and trashing our civil liberties and all without a single vote of the Ohio General Assembly. While promising transparency Dr. Acton has openly admitted to “guesstimating” on her numbers. Now, her latest model is buried in secrecy at Ohio State University and no one is permitted to see the math. Therefore, we are filing this formal legal request which, according to law, the Department must meet promptly. We want all Ohioans to know that we are trying to open the door to transparency for everyone in this state.”
The Roundtable is calling for a four-fold approach to dealing with COVID-19, including protecting the most vulnerable; increasing hospital capacity, resources and equipment; responsible social distancing and the creation of new vaccines and therapies. “We believe the solution to COVID-19 requires we solve this problem by doing all that is necessary. Our concern for those most vulnerable and those on the front lines of healthcare provision must come first. We must trust Ohioans to flatten the curve responsibly without stripping them of their Constitutional rights, or their jobs or their civil liberties.”
For more information, please visit aproundtable.org. For a full discussion of the COVID-19 crisis, please
visit thepublicsquare.com and hear the series of national radio broadcasts produced on this subject.
The Ohio Roundtable is a division of The American Policy Roundtable, a non-profit, non-partisan media and education organization focused on promoting positive alternatives in public policy. The Roundtable was founded in 1980 and has been highly engaged in health care issues since 1990.