Governor Mike DeWine announced today that K-12 schools in Ohio will remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year.
“We balanced many issues in arriving at this decision. In the end, I believe this is what is best to protect the health of our children, our teachers, and our administrators,” DeWine said. “While our buildings are closed, we know that students continue to learn in new and innovative ways. I thank all of our teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents for all they have done and will continue to do in these challenging times.”
At this time, no decisions have been made regarding whether or not schools will reopen in the fall.
“If you need someone to watch your kids, these are decisions individual families will have to make,” the governor posted on Twitter following the announcement. “If it was my family, I’d be very concerned about leaving your kids with the grandparents. Kids can get COVID19, and most of the time will be OK, but they can spread it.
“We have not made a decision on daycares yet. For the same reason we don’t want schools meeting in person – it’s the same concern for daycares. It’s a number of kids together who then go back home – it’s a perfect recipe for spread. We’re not ready yet to open up more daycares yet.”
Currently, there are 12,919 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 509 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 2,653 people have been hospitalized, including 798 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH
