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.
Many public events have been canceled or postponed after health officials recommended the public avoid close social contact to slow the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus.
For general closings, see the list of categories immediately below. Scroll further for a list of event cancellations by date.
FISH FRIES & CATHOLIC MASSES
The Catholic Conference of Ohio has suspended all publicly celebrated masses through Easter.
The Archdiocese Of Cincinnati website will be live-streaming a daily mass and weekend mass from the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains. Daily mass will be available online at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday mass will be live-streamed at 11 a.m.
The Catholic Telegraph also listed this fish fry guide:
- All Saints, Montgomery - carry-out available
- Catholic Kolping Society, Cincinnati - drive-thru only
- Good Shepherd, Cincinnati - carry-out and drive-thru available
- Guardian Angels, Cincinnati - March 20 canceled
- Holy Trinity, Norwood - canceled
- Our Lady of the Rosary, Cincinnati canceled until further notice
- Our Lady of Sorrows, Monroe - canceled
- Our Lord Christ the King, Fish Fry canceled
- St. John the Baptist Dry Ridge, Fish Fry canceled until further notice
- St. John the Evangelist West Chester, all March Fish Fry Fridays canceled
- St. Matthias Cincinnati, canceled until further notice
- St. Maximilian Kolbe, Liberty Township, Fish Fry canceled
- St. Philip the Apostle Morrow, Fish Fry canceled
- St. Veronica Cincinnati, Fish Fry canceled until further notice
Effective Friday, March 20, the Diocese of Covington will cancel in-person, publicly celebrated Mass until further notice. For more information, click here.
SPORTS
All Ohio High School Athletic Association events are canceled for the duration of the season. All remaining NCAA tournaments have been canceled, including the First Four in Dayton and the first and second round March Madness games in Cleveland.
The ECHL, the league which includes the Cincinnati Cyclones, has suspended the rest of its season.
Major League Soccer announced it would suspend its 2020 season, including FC Cincinnati's home opener.
Xavier University intercollegiate athletics competitions, camps and clinics have been canceled for the spring semester.
All YMCA of Greater Cincinnati branches are closed. Only childcare and hospital personnel kids camps remain open. The Y is offering online fitness programsled by Y instructors.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Kings Island announced it would push its April 11 opening back to mid-May amid coronavirus/COVID-19 concerns.
The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is closed starting Monday, March 16, until further notice.
The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal extended its closure to May 11. This includes the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center which is housed inside Union Terminal. All programs associated with the museums and museum camps are canceled during this time. The CMC is expanding it's online resources for teachers, parents and kids. Check out the Wonder Zone, which offers science how-to videos, and Story Tree Time, which will go live every Wednesday at 11 a.m.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will close to the public through May 11. All programs are canceled during this time. Here is list of the expanded online learning resources available.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, Vocal Arts Ensemble and May Festival performances and events are canceled through at least April 5.
The Cincinnati Ballet will extend its Spring Break from March 14 to April 3. The school will consider all class absences up to March 13 excused. The Ballet has canceled its mainstage production of "Snow White" and rescheduled mainstage production "Director's Cut" at the Aronoff Center to April 30-May 2.
The Carnegie has decided to postpone the Jessie Dunahoo and Open Source 2.1 opening reception on Friday, March 13, and to temporarily suspend gallery hours this weekend. The opening reception will be rescheduled at a later date. Gallery hours will resume March 21.
Cincinnati Arts Association Postponements:
- Wednesday, March 18 - Friday, March 20: Shen Yun. Aronoff Center - Procter & Gamble Hall. NEW DATE: TBA
- Saturday, March 21, 4:00 PM & 8:00 PM: The Price is Right Live! Aronoff Center - Procter & Gamble Hall. NEW DATE: TBA
All March performances have been postponed at the Fitton Center For Creative Arts in Hamilton, Ohio. In addition, the center will be closed from March 13 to April 6.
All events at the Taft Theatre have been postponed through April 5.
All performances, classes and events are canceled at the Children's Theater of Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum and Taft Museum of Art are all closed for three weeks effective March 13 to April 3.
The Behringer-Crawford Museum will be closed from Saturday, March 14 until Tuesday, April 7.
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum will be closed to the public from March 24 to April 7.
The Sharonville Convention Center postponed all events through April 17.
The Blue Ash Recreation Center is closed beginning March 16.
Great Wolf Lodge will close at 2 p.m. March 15 with plans to re-open on May 19. Guests affected by the closure will receive a full refund.
JACK Casino Cincinnati will close until further notice effective at midnight March 13.
Belterra Park will close until further notice effective at midnight March 13.
The Newport Aquarium will close March 16. Officials hope to re-open in mid-May or as soon thereafter as possible.
Woman's Art Club Cultural Center in Mariemont is closed until April 3.
World of Golf in Florence will close until further notice, effective 5 p.m. March 18.
The Sharonville Cultural Arts Center is closed to the public and has suspended all operations in our theater and Westheimer Gallery until further notice.
The Lebanon Theatre Company announced that auditions and performances for “Assassins” have been postponed indefinitely. Visit www.LTCplays.com for more information.
FOOD & DRINK
All restaurants have been ordered to be closed for indoor and to service customers in a carryout capacity only. Click here for a list of local restaurants offering carry-out or delivery.
RELIGIOUS CANCELLATIONS
Maineville United Methodist Church services are canceled for March 21 and March 28. Messages will be available on the church website at 11 a.m. Sunday.
OTHER CANCELLATIONS
Starting Thursday, March 19, Great Parks Cincinnati is extending closures and cancellations of all indoor facilities including Parky's Farm in Winton Woods, Highfield Discovery Garden in Glenwood Gardens, golf and camping at Miami Whitewater Forest and camping at Lake Isabella. Camping at Winton Woods will be for self-containted units only, on a first-come, first-serve basis only.
All locations of the Cincinnati Recreation Centers are closed as of March 17. The closure effectively cancels all special events, contract classes, meetings, rentals and indoor sports leagues at all facilities. The Cincinnati Recreation Commission anticipates reopening all locations on Monday, April 6th. Updates will be posted on the recreation commission's social media accounts and website.
Ohio State Parks remain open, but park offices close to public visitation on March 17.
The Cincinnati Athletic Club suspended all member activities and access beginning at 5 p.m. March 16 until further notice. The club will provide email updates to all members with a minimum frequency of once per week during this period.
All 41 branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are closed. Patrons should not attempt to return materials during the closure, and none will be fined for keeping a rental past its due date. A library spokesperson encouraged patrons to use the eBranch to check out books, movies and audiobooks virtually during the closure. Here is a list of the library'sother online resources and updates.
Clermont County Public Library will be closing all library branches are closed and will reopen at noon, Monday, April 6.
The Anderson Township Senior Center is closed through Friday, April 24.
All Boone County Public Library locations are closed as of March 13. In a statement, the library said it will use current information form health officials to determine the safest date to reopen.
All Kenton County Library events are canceled through Sunday, March 22. The library will quarantine returned materials and will not accept donations at this time. Due dates for checked out materials will be extended through "the duration of this epidemic."
The Rowe Visitor Center at the Cincinnati Nature Center is closed through April 5 , and all programs and classes are canceled. Trails, the Nature Playscape and Long Branch Farm & Trails will stay open. Check the center's website for a full list and updates.
The Sharonville Community Center will close for at least two weeks at the end of their business day on Friday, March 13.
The Clermont Animal Shelter suspended all general open hours, shifting to an appointment- and schedule-based service model for animal intake, redemptions and adoptions. In-house operations will continue to focus on animal care and enrichment.
The Alzheimer's Association of Greater Cincinnati has postponed all April events until further notice. This includes the Rock to End Alzheimer's benefit concert at the Gibson Theatre, Healthy Living for Your Brain & Body presentation and the monthly support group at the Batesville Masonic Lodge.
Hotel Covington will be temporarily closed until April 7.
Here are more events that have been either canceled or postponed in the Tri-State:
Thursday, March 19:
- POSTPONED: ArtsWave CincyJams
- POSTPONED: The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds at the Taft Theatre is postponed to Nov. 14.
Friday, March 20:
- CANCELED: Children’s Space Dedication at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
- CANCELED : Lebanon Quilt Show
Saturday, March 21
- CANCELED: The Cincinnati Rollergirls' home opener at the Cintas Center
- POSTPONED: 4th annual PWC ToolBelt Ball.
Tuesday, March 24:
- CANCELED: Anderson Township 101
Thursday, March 26:
- CANCELED: Findlay Market Opening Day Parade
- DELAYED: Reds home opener against St. Louis
Friday, March 27:
- CANCELED: Dave Simonett show at the Taft Ballroom
Saturday, March 28:
- RESCHEDULED: Monster Jam Triple Threat Series at the Heritage Bank Center has been rescheduled for November 21-22, 2020.
- POSTPONED: WCPO 9 Shred Day
Sunday, March 29:
- RESCHEDULED: Monster Jam Triple Threat Series at the Heritage Bank Center has been rescheduled for November 21-22, 2020.
Tuesday, March 31:
- POSTPONED: Fast Pitch 2020 at Jack Cincinnati Casino
Thursday, April 2:
- POSTPONED: State of the County Address
Saturday, April 4:
- POSTPONED: Mason Empty Bowls benefit luncheon
Friday, April 10:
- CANCELED: Bearcats Spring Football and Fish Fry
Saturday, April 18:
- CANCELED: Beacon of Light Humanitarian Awards Gala
- POSTPONED: Kings Island Opening Day
Friday, April 24
- POSTPONED: Su Casa Awards Dinner, Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio
Friday, May 7, 2020
- POSTPONED: Kyle Rudolph Charity Concert Featuring Darius Rucker moved to July 17
May 29 - 31, 2020
- CANCELED: Summerfair Cincinnati art show at Coney Island.
Aug. 8 - 29, 2020
- POSTPONED: Summermusik 2020 rescheduled for 2021.
WCPO will continue to update this list as more information becomes available.
Click here to see a full list of major universities suspending, in-person classes amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Click here to see a full list of schools that have adjusted their schedules amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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
- SDH 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.
- SDH Epidemiology Resource Center: (317) 233-7125 or (317) 233-1325 after hours, or e-mail epiresource@isdh.in.gov
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.
