DeWine: All Ohio schools must close for three weeks

COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced all public, private and charter schools in the state must close for three weeks at the end of the school day on Monday, in order to curtail the spread of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

The state-mandated closure will continue until at least April 3, DeWine said, though he added the state has not yet ruled out extending that closure.

As of Thursday, many public school districts in the Mahoning Valley had already announced Friday school closures in order to prepare to roll out remote instruction methods.

DeWine, during a Thursday briefing on coronavirus in the state, said any additional school closure days would be up to district administrators. Schools that schedule spring break later in the season may also choose how to schedule that break, he said.

DeWine said the state plans to work with outside, philanthropic agencies to cover some of the non-academic social services that schools provide — such as free meals — but no plans have been finalized.

Youngstown City School District, which will be closed Friday but will re-open Monday in order for students to receive classwork, is also working on those plans locally, said spokesperson Denise Dick.

The district is considering asking other organizations to serve as sites where the district can leave meals that students and their families can pick up, she said.

"We have to do everything we can to slow down the spread of this virus," DeWine said, adding that a surge of the virus spreading now could overwhelm health providers.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 3:56 PM with the headline "DeWine: All Ohio schools must close for three weeks."