Gov. Mike DeWine’s road map for reopening Ohio seems too slow for many Republicans who say people can distance without decrees and too fast for Democrats who worry about a second surge of the coronavirus.

"My fear is that the governor is going to try to central plan and micromanage everything," said Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, who is leading an effort to open all businesses as "essential" as soon as possible. "Our plan trusts people to do that and businesses to do that and local health departments."

The plan is called the Open Ohio Responsibly Framework, and more than 30 Republicans — a majority of the GOP caucus — so far have signed on in support. It recommends allowing all businesses to open starting Friday with the caveat that they modify their operations (increased spacing between tables and checkout lines, masks for employees).

>> This story is being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. You can find more stories on coronavirus here. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Columbus Dispatch at subscribe.dispatch.com.

"If a business isn’t following these rules, then let’s go work with that individual business to help them become compliant," Vitale said. "If the public or an employee doesn’t feel comfortable, they are going to call the local health department. People aren’t going to shop somewhere if they don’t feel safe."

The 12 "guiding principles" also included respecting the right of people to continue sheltering in place, keeping sick children at home, working from home where possible and praise for Ohio’s health-care workers.

"We respect past concerns regarding not overwhelming our hospitals, health systems, front line health-care workers and first responders as well as ensuring there is an adequate supply of personal protective equipment," the memo states. "In Ohio, we believe we are now past that stage of concern."

Democratic leadership in the House, however, fundamentally disagreed during a press call Monday.

"Relaxing of social distancing measures without the proper protections will certainly lead to more illness and death," said House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes.

The Akron Democrat, who holds a masters degree in public health, said it was "a little shocking" that the governor would reopen certain businesses before mass testing for the coronavirus.

"Without having that information, we are operating blindly and leaving ourselves susceptible for a second surge," Sykes said.

DeWine announced a tiered approach on Monday that would selectively reopen businesses over the next month. But not every industry received a definitive date. Medical procedures that don’t require an overnight stay can start Friday. DeWine didn’t say when daycares or hair salons could open.

"We're trying to ease out," DeWine said. "We're trying to get Ohio back working."

All nine Senate Democrats signed a letter on Friday that asked DeWine not to reopen until the state conducted widespread testing, required mask wearing in public, created clear guidelines for businesses, set up whistleblower protections and got child-care facilities up and running. House Democratic leadership echoed those ideas and added a request to discuss voting in November’s presidential election.

"I believe we are reopening a little prematurely," Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester, said during Monday’s call.

Faith-based policy groups such as Citizens for Community Values are working on guidelines for public worship.

"Context is everything," CCV president Aaron Baer said in a statement. "For some churches, resuming worship in May might not be the best idea, for others, they can resume gathering together and still protect the health and safety of their congregants."

Baer’s group recommends adding services to help space out attendance, continue offering online streaming for those who prefer to stay home and ask those attending in person to take their temperatures before leaving home.

That kind of tailored approach is what Republicans in the House and a handful in the Senate favor.

"The process of reopening businesses is best led by the businesses themselves," Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, wrote in an opinion piece for LimaOhio.com, in which he questioned models developed by Ohio State University and Cleveland Clinic.

"They have a vested interest in protecting their employees and customers, and they have the knowledge to implement those protections,," Huffman continued. "Since the enforcement of health regulations is almost always done at a local level, this approach makes even more sense."

astaver@dispatch.com

@annastaver