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.
The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati will suspend fitness and aquatics programming at its branches in order to focus on daytime childcare for medical professionals and parents of children out of school due to coronavirus, the organization announced Friday.
"Because of the evolving rules governing the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of school closures and the growing demand on medical professionals, we are transitioning many of our Y centers to support doctors, nurses, technicians and medical staff with caring for their children during this crisis," wrote Jorge Perez, president and CEO of YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. "They will not have to worry that their child is in a safe place, as they care for a growing number of our loved ones during this difficult time."
All group exercise, sports, senior activities, Kids' Club and swim lessons are canceled at all YMCA Greater Cincinnati branches effective Monday.
From March 16 through April 3, the following locations will temporarily suspend all fitness and aquatics opportunities in order to focus on school-days-out childcare and youth camps:
- Blue Ash, 5000 YMCA Drive
- Campbell County, 1437 South Fort Thomas Avenue
- Carl H. Lindner, 1425 Linn Street,
- Clermont County, 2075 James E. Sauls Sr. Drive, Batavia
- Gamble-Nippert, 3159 Montana Avenue
- Powel Crosley Jr., 9601 Winton Road
- Highland County, 201 Diamond Drive, Hillsboro
- M.E. Lyons, 8108 Clough Pike
The following locations will continue to offer fitness and aquatics facilities alongside day camps and childcare:
- Downtown Central Parkway, 1105 Elm Street
- Clippard, 8920 Cheviot Road
- R.C. Durr, 5874 Veterans Way, Burlington
For YMCA's free online fitness programming, click here for yoga and kickboxing classes (password: ymca). More will be added next week.
For more information, click here.
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.
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.
