COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that nursing home residents will be limited to one visitor per day as the state continues to take steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“We are issuing an order limiting visitors to one per day per resident,” DeWine said. There must be a single point of entry – and everyone will be screened for temperature/potential illness. Visitor logs must be kept.”

The next step, according to the governor would be to ban all visitors. He says we aren’t to that point yet.

“This is always a balance. Quite candidly, people who are in this situation enjoy visitors. Loved ones, spouses, child, and socialization is important,” said DeWeine. “We are trying to balance this, but we also know this is a particularly vulnerable population.”

DeWine says he is trying to avoid tragedies in nursing homes, like what is being seen in Washington.

“We have an obligation to people who are in these nursing homes,” said DeWine. “We have an obligation to their families. They are particularly vulnerable.”

According to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, in people in their 40s and 50s, 1 in 250 can die from the virus. For people in their 80s, up to 15% could die.