Ohio closing schools for three weeks

Ohio will be closing all schools for three weeks starting Monday amid the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday. 

DeWine said the decision to have an “extended spring break” came after consulting with experts. The closure will be reviewed at the end of the three weeks. 

The risk for children, unless they have another medical problem, is not high but children are potential carriers of the virus, DeWine noted. 

“We will continue to consult with educators on this. We have to take this action. We have to do everything we can do slow down the spread of this virus,” he tweeted.

We have today again consulted with experts, so we are announcing today that children in the state will have an extended spring break of 3 weeks. We will review it afterwards. This will begin on Monday.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 12, 2020

Slowing the spread of the virus will allow the health care system to work, he added. 

“We don’t want our health care providers to have to make the decision of who lives and who dies,” he said. “We know this will impact families. We understand the sacrifice will entail, but this is the right thing to do.” 

There are three confirmed cases in Ohio, according to the latest released Ohio Department of Health information. 

The virus is rapidly spreading across the U.S., with more than 1,300 cases confirmed as of Thursday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

Globally, more than 127,000 cases have been confirmed, according to Johns Hopkins University.