Paulding County small businesses say they will feel the strain of new Ohio curfew

As COVID-19 spreads quickly throughout the country, new mandates are being put in place to help slow the spread of the virus and in Ohio, a 10 p.m.

To 5 a.m.

Curfew will be in effect starting Thursday, lasting for 21 days.

As covid-19 spreads quickly throughout the country, new mandates are being put in place to help slow the spread of the virus.

In ohio... this means a curfew.governor mike dewine issuing a 10pm to 5am curfew... which starts tomorrow.

Fox 55's caleb saylor spent time talking to businesses throughout paulding county today is live in antwerp to tell us more about the impacts the curfew could have and how it'll be enforced.

Yeah by this time tomorrow, retail businesses normally 3 open for in house operations past ten pm will have to kick out their customers or face the consequences and while ohio lieutenant governor jon husted says the curfew was the most impactful and least disruptive option they had, there will still be hardship for some businesses it's wings night at the oasis bar and grill in antwerp, a night they're usually pretty busy.

Employee james young says normally, people would stay late, enjoy the food, have a few drinks, and he would make some extra money, but the health orders to limit the spread of covid-19, including the new curfew, will cut into that "in a word, it's crippling, you know?

I mean, any time i would be able to stay open or people would want to stay and have a few more drinks, spend a couple hundred more dollars, and possibly i might make that much extra until 2am, normally.

With his new policy, he's basically...it's been unmanageable."

This is a problem for many small businesses and restaurants across paulding county that stay open late.

At the foe club 2405 in paulding, trustee john gutierrez says they normally stay open until midnight and closing at ten will put a strain on money coming in and the employees.

"combination of both, the money and the staff because by not working longer hours, the staff is losing money by not working...it'll slow things down because we normally don't close that early."

The order isn't intended to impact people doing things going to get groceries , head to the pharmacy, going to recieve medical care, or getting take out from your local restaurant.

Which is part of the reason why paulding county sheriff jason landers says his department won't be doing any different enforcement tomorrow as they have been for the last several months "i think the order has so many holes in it and really various outs for people or options for people to travel and move about at those hours from ten to five that it's going to be very difficult for any law enforcement to enforce that order."

Landers explained he believes most people are being responsibly safe and says he intends to let people live their lives, but for people like young, part of their livelihood is being impacted by the new orders "i love the work, i love the people in this town, so i just do what i do, carry on and hope things get better."

3 ?this curfew is supposed to last only for the next three weeks, but the people i spoke to today says they'll continue to have long lasting impacts because of the pandemic.

The vfw in paulding says their revenue has already dropped by 50% during the pandemic and they on know how long they can hold out in antwerp, caleb saylor, fox 55