Ohio Public Schools to Close for 3 Weeks over Coronavirus

The entire Ohio public school system is set to close on Monday for the next three weeks over the coronavirus.

The announcement arrives just days after Gov. Mike DeWine declared Ohio under a state of emergency after three people in Ohio tested positive for the Chinese virus.

Since then, two more people have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing Ohio’s total to five.

On Thursday, the governor announced that all public schools in Ohio will be closed on Monday for three weeks, which is subject to be extended after a review of the matter at a later date.

We have today again consulted with experts, so we are announcing today that children in the state will have an extended spring break of 3 weeks. We will review it afterwards. This will begin on Monday.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 12, 2020

“Schools: From what we can tell based on what has happened elsewhere — unless a child has another medical problem, the risk of death from #COVID19 for a child is not very high, but kids are potential carriers,” said DeWine in a tweet on Thursday.

“We have today again consulted with experts, so we are announcing today that children in the state will have an extended spring break of 3 weeks,” added the governor. “We will review it afterwards. This will begin on Monday.”

In addition to school closings, Ohio has also placed a ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people, according to a report by the Columbus Dispatch.

“This will not last forever. This is temporary. Everything we’re doing is temporary,” said DeWine. “We will get back to normal in Ohio.”

The governor added that Ohio will be stopping all visitations at nursing homes and state psychiatric hospitals within the next few days as well, and that people who work at these facilities will have their temperatures taken.

The report added that as of now, 52 Ohioans are waiting for their test results to see if they are positive with the Wuhan coronavirus.

“These numbers are just going to continue to grow and we know that these confirmed numbers are just a small fraction of the individuals who are infected already in the State of Ohio,” said DeWine of the new coronavirus problem in Ohio.

The governor added that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Ohio is expected to double within six days.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.