Ohio University activated its Critical Incident Response Team Monday after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency when three people tested positive for COVID-19, or the coronavirus.
The Critical Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is holding daily conference calls, including medical, environmental health and safety, administrative, academic and emergency management leadership from across OU.
People involved in the CIRT are the chief of police, the assistant vice president for safety and risk management, the dean of students, the associate vice president for facilities, the assistant vice president for auxiliary services, the emergency programs coordinator and the executive director for communications and marketing, according to university policy.
DeWine issuing a state of emergency allows state departments and agencies to better coordinate their responses, according to a news release.
There have been no coronavirus cases reported at any OU campuses or locations, according to an update from the university. The university also believes the risk of transmission on OU campuses is low, according to the university alerts page.
OU restricted university trips to locations where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a level two or three warning.
Ohio State University suspended all face-to-face lectures, discussion sections, seminars and other similar classroom setting courses, moving them to online instruction until at least March 30, according to an OSU university-wide email. Specific guidelines for laboratory and performance classes will be released later this week.
