COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shortly after the Big Ten Conference officially postponed its fall season, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that final decisions about high school fall sports seasons will come very soon, adding that the Big Ten decision does not significantly change the circumstances of his decision.

What You Need To Know

  • DeWine gave a special press conference Tuesday focused on schools

  • He said if there is high community spread in an area, cases will enter in schools in that area

  • DeWine said final decisions on fall sports are imminent

“The basic facts don’t change because of what the Big Ten has decided to do,” DeWine said at a back-to-school news conference, speaking from his home in Cedarville.

DeWine said the decision will not be made in a vacuum, and he has to weigh the discipline that can be gained from being in a sport with the safety of the sport.

“Part of the argument for sports, that is I think a strong one, is first of all there's a discipline to sports,” he said. “Part of the discipline this year will have to be being safe."

He said for sports seasons to proceed, players and the general community must also be disciplined in following COVID-19 health guidance to reduce spread of the virus.

DeWine told school superintendents last week the success of their districts in going back to school in person will depend on low community spread in the surrounding area, he said at the news conference.

“I’ve said to them, ‘I’m totally confident that you’re going to do a great job. You’ve been focusing on this, you’ve been getting ready for this, but whatever’s going on in the community will be reflected in your school,’” he said.

DeWine shared a graphic from the Ohio Department of Education that showed which schools will restart in person five days per week, which will use hybrid learning, and which will be fully online. The graphic showed the latest information as of Aug. 6.

  • 325 school districts planned to start with five day in-person learning, accounting for 38 percent of students
  • 55 school districts planned to start online, accounting for 25.6 percent of students
  • 154 school districts planned to use a hybrid learning model, accounting for 24.5 percent of students.
  • 78 school districts had not submitted a plan.

The press briefing featured three doctors, Dr. John Barnard of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Patty Manning of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Adam Mezoff of Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Barnard said good ventilation can help schools keep students and teachers safe. When possible, teachers may want to open a window or opt to hold class outside, he said.

Manning said she would let her children ride the bus. While school buses can be close-quartered environments, she said the good news is students are seated facing forward.

With students wearing masks, she said she feels comfortable with bus riding.

The doctors said older children have tested positive more frequently that younger children, likely due to more socializing.

Dr. Barnard said the six children's hospitals in Ohio have administered about 14,000 COVID-19 tests to children with apparent symptoms. The testing has shown an 8.6 percent positivity rate. Eight percent of those who tested positive were hospitalized and one percent became seriously or critically ill.

As of Tuesday morning, no Ohio hospital had a child in an intensive care unit.