Editor’s note: With our coronavirus coverage, our goal is not to alarm you but to equip you with the information you need. We will try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See a list of resources and frequently asked questions at the end of this story.
Government officials have declared states of emergency across the Tri-State thanks to COVID-19 and many local events have been canceled or postponed. This is a list of local schools and ways they have said they will be dealing with COVID-19.
OHIO
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered every K-12 school in Ohio to close for three weeks beginning March 17.
Archdiocese of Cincinnati Schools
- Schools will be closed at the end of the day Monday, March 16 through April 3. The Department of Schools will also close. All school-related meetings and activities are canceled. In addition, Catholics across Ohio are dispensed from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass through the weekend of March 28-29.
Art Academy of Cincinnati
- Spring break will be extended until March 22 and classes will resume on March 23 "utilizing an online instruction model only," according to their website. However, labs or studios may meet at the behest of the course instructor.
Beckman School for Accelerated Learning
- Closed from March 13 to April 13. Teachers will meet March 13 and 16 to establish assignments for students. Students will receive online assignments via Google Classroom starting March 17 until April 3. Spring Break will go on as scheduled from April 4-12.
Badin High School
- Badin's spring play, "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," has been postponed until further notice.
Cincinnati Public Schools
- All CPS schools will close Monday, March 16 through April 3.
- Parents can check the district's website for updates.
Cincinnati State
- All in-person, on-campus classes are shifting to an “alternative format” starting Saturday, March 14, through Sunday, March 29. This also includes classes at the Clifton, Middletown and Harrison campuses. All student activities and events scheduled between March 14 and March 29 are postponed. Click here for more information.
Lebanon City Schools
- Closed March 13, will reopen April 6.
Little Miami Local Schools
- Closed March 13 through April 3.
Madeira Schools
- Students will be out of school from March 16-20, when no schoolwork will be provided, followed by Spring Break from March 23-27. Students will be given remote learning packets and assignments beginning Monday, March 30.
Mason City Schools
- Closed Friday, March 13, through April 5. Remote learning plan will not be put into place unless break extends past April 5.
Miami University
- In-person classes have been suspended for the rest of the semester, but students will continue their lessons online. Click here for more information.
Mount St. Joseph
- On Monday, March 16, university officials will suspend face-to-face classes. Remote classroom instructions will begin Monday as well. The campus will remain open for staff, but all non-essential meetings, performances and tours have been canceled.
Northwest Local School District
- A staff member was tested for the virus on Thursday and has self-quarantined. There are no confirmed cases in Greater Cincinnati. As a precaution, NWLSD will be closed until March 18. Click here for more information.
Princeton City School District
- Princeton City Schools will be closed starting March 13 through April 3. All staff should report at their regular time to receive directions from their school principal.
Ohio State University
- In-person classes have been suspended, and courses will resume online until at least March 30. Click here for more information.
Ohio University
- In-person classes suspended, moving to remote and online instruction through the end of spring semester for all campuses and locations. Classes will resume online following an extended spring break on Monday, March 23. Students who live in residence halls on the Athens campus are not to return to campus after spring break.
Southwest Local Schools
- No school for students March 13, but Hoxworth Blood Drive taking place as scheduled 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 16-20: school closed with no school work. March 23-27: closed for Spring Break. March 30-April 3: schools closed and students assigned work from home.
Springboro Schools
- Closed starting Monday, March 16, through April 13.
Talawanda City Schools
- Closed Friday, March 13, for illness.
University of Cincinnati
- In-person classes have been suspended from March 14 through the rest of the semester, but students will continue their lessons online beginning March 26. University housing and dining facilities will close as well, and students must leave by the end of the day on March 25.
- UC has also canceled its Bearcats Spring Football & Fish Fry event on April 10. Click here for more information.
- All large-scale admissions events are canceled until May 31, while daily visits are suspended through April 10.
Wilmington College
- The college has suspended in-person classes and will move all classes online effective March 16 through the remainder of the semester. The college is allowing students to return to their residence halls to gather books and personal belongings.
Xavier University
- In-person classes have been suspended, but students will continue their lessons online. Dorms and other campus buildings are still open. Click here for more information.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recommended all K-12 Kentucky schools close between March 16-27.
Boone County Schools
- Starting Monday, March 16, students at Boone County Schools will be using non-traditional instruction at home. Students will continue this until April 20, or otherwise noted. Click here for more information.
Diocese of Covington
- Schools will cease in-person instruction beginning Monday, March 16 through March 27. Each school will handle at-home instruction "that best meets the needs and resources of its community." As of March 13, there is no need to ban faculty or staff from working in the school building. School buildings will not be open to children, parents and community members during this time. All school extracurricular activities are suspended through March 27. For more, click here.
Fort Thomas Independent Schools
- School buildings will close March 16 through March 27 as students move to non-traditional instruction. For more information, click here.
Gallatin County Schools
- Non-traditional instruction starts Monday, March 16, though April 3.
Kenton County Schools
- Kenton County Schools will close until March 30 using the plan outlinedhere.
Newport Independent Schools
- School buildings are closed Monday, March 16 to March 30. Non-traditional instruction, or online learning, will take place during this time. More information is available here.
Northern Kentucky University
- Spring break for students has been extended, and classes will resume online starting March 23. Residence halls will be open starting March 15, though. Click here for more information.
INDIANA
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Thursday schools will be allowed to close for 20 days for rest of this school year, the Associated Press reported.
Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools
- Spring Break for all schools starts Monday, March 16 and goes through March 30. All events, rentals, games, practices, and other activities are canceled beginning after school on March 13. Read the letter sent to parents here.
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Click here to see a full list of major universities across the country suspending in-person classes amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
WCPO will update this list as more schools advise on how they will handle this pandemic.
Find more coronavirus/COVID-19 hotlines and resources below:
Ohio
Department of Health COVID-19 hotline: 833-4-ASK-ODH
See ODH’s COVID-19 resources here.
Kentucky
State COVID-19 hotline: 1-800-722-5725
See the Cabinet for Health and Family Services coronavirus resource site here.
Indiana
DH Epidemiology Resource Center: (317) 233-7125 or (317) 233-1325 after hours, or e-mail epiresource@isdh.in.gov
See more information for coronavirus in Indiana here.
FAQ:
What is coronavirus, COVID-19?
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses are "a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
A novel coronavirus, such as COVID-19, is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
COVID-19 was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and has now been detected in 45 countries across the globe, including in the U.S., according to the CDC.
The CDC reports the initial patients in China have some link to a large seafood and live animal market, indicative of animal-to-person spread. A growing number of patients, however, did not report exposure to animal markets, indicating the disease is spreading person-to-person.
What are the symptoms? How does it spread?
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death, according to the CDC. Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath.
The CDC said symptoms could appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. It is similar to the incubation period for MERS.
Spread of the virus is thought to be mainly from person-to-person. Spread is between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet). Spread occurs via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
According to the CDC, it could be possible for a person to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, the CDC said.
The disease is most contagious when people are the sickest and showing the most symptoms.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
