Coronavirus Pandemic: Schools will have flexibility while planning for fall return

Local schools, colleges and universities throughout the Dayton area have been put under financial pressure by the coronavirus pandemic as they work come up with procedures and plans to welcome students back to campus in August.

Some, such as Wright State and Dayton, have laid off and/or furloughed some faculty and staff. Wittenberg University in Springfield has cut six academic programs as well as some faculty positions to save money.

DeWine has said his goal is for classes to resume in the fall, but exactly what that will look like will likely be left up to individual districts.

“Each school is different,” DeWine said. “Schools are going to have a lot of flexibility.”

DeWine said he will trust the schools will do the best they can to protect students, teachers and other faculty members.

The state is still working on the final details of the plans for schools, but said he doesn’t expect there to be any surprises.

“We have to get back to school,” DeWine said.

Gov. Mike DeWine held a 2 p.m. press conference with updates on the state’s coronavirus response.

The following announcements were made:

• Three public service announcements are beginning to air starting today reinforcing interventions medical experts say will make a difference in slowing the spread of COVID-19. One of the ads features Greene County Coroner and Cedarville Family Practice Dr. Kevin Sharrett. The ads are paid for by the Ohio Department of Health.
• The state has seen about a 45 percent drop in pediatric vaccinations during the pandemic. Doctors are urging parents to ensure their children are getting their well visits scheduled and getting vaccines.
• Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said legal fireworks displays are not prohibited, but the state is urging that those that do go forward with plans to do so safely. The large gathering order is still in place.
• DeWine urged protesters to wear masks while demonstrating across the state.
• The state plans to unveil a plan for allowing Ohioans to visit nursing homes in about a week, DeWine said.
• Since May, that state has seen a positive rate in testing of about 4 to 6 percent, Husted said. However, those numbers have gone down since testing has increased.

[ Where can you get tested? ]

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Things you should know today:

• Sinclair College’s Board of Trustees will consider a resolution Tuesday that would reduce the school’s part-time staffing by 15 percent
• Pop-up testing continues throughout the state. Here’s the map with locations. The top three ZIP codes for coronavirus cases in Montgomery County include parts of Riverside, Huber Heights and Trotwood, Gov. Mike DeWine said. Hot ZIP codes are 45424, 45417, 45426.
• Kroger Health, in conjunction with Kettering Health Network, is offering drive-up and walk-up testing sites beginning Wednesday.
• Several communities have decided to put on Fourth of July celebrations despite the pandemic.
• With a focus minority access test sites in Xenia and Dayton are being offered this week as part of DeWine’s push for minorities to get virus testing.
• Educators throughout Ohio are mapping their plans to return to the classroom this fall. Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli is among those who want more flexibility from the governor as to how and when schools will reopen.
• Summer camps reopened Monday, with changes and restrictions, despite the pandemic.
• Montgomery County Stillwater Center officials on Monday reported that a non-direct care staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. The employee does not have resident contact and has been quarantined 14 days, as have any employees who were in proximity to the source employee. “Please be assured that the safety of our residents and staff is our top priority,” said Dr. Michelle Pierce-Mobley, Director of Stillwater Center.

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[ Coronavirus: Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

LATEST STATE DATA: As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been at least 46,127 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 2,735 deaths, and 7,379 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.

Of the state’s positive cases, 11% are from Ohio’s prisons. At those prisons, there has been an increase in testing.

[ Local cases, deaths reported to Ohio Department of Health ]

There have been 667,077 people tested for coronavirus in Ohio.

In the state, 6,542 cases are health care workers, which is 14 percent of the cases.

Some other things you should know today:

• 2 more Trump staffers have tested positive following Tulsa rally
• Avoid these 9 hand sanitizers because of methanol toxicity, FDA warns
• Delta to resume flights to China this week

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