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.
CINCINNATI — To combat the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19, University of Cincinnati has canceled its Bearcats Spring Football & Fish Fry event on April 10, the school’s athletic department announced Tuesday.
The university will also limit outdoor events to crowds of 150 spectators or less until May 1.
"Additional guidance on how this affects upcoming baseball, lacrosse, tennis and track and field events will be announced at a later date," read a news release from UC Athletics.
The Bearcats men’s basketball team will still head to Fort Worth this week to compete in the American Athletics Conference Tournament, “provided it is safe and pertinent to do so.” The tournament starts Thursday.
"We are always going to put the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes at the forefront of any decisions and will abide by Governor DeWine's recommendations regarding indoor athletics events on campus," said Director of AthleticsJohn Cunningham in a news release "UC Athletics is continuously monitoring COVID-19 in conjunction with our medical staff, University administration, UC's Public Health Response Team and the American Athletic Conference. UC will continue to conduct home events and advise our teams to travel in a safe and responsible manner."
The university also announced Tuesday it would suspend all in-person classes and switch to online instruction starting Saturday, March 14.
There are currently no confirmed cases at UC or in the Cincinnati area as of Tuesday night.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine suggested indoor sporting events in Ohio, including high school, collegiate and professional sports, continue without most spectators in attendance in order to curb the spread of coronavirus.
For more information on UC’s coronavirus/COVID-19 response, click here.
Find 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.
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.
