Two Extra Months to Play Outside and Ride Bikes: Ohio Governor Says School May Be Out for the Rest of the Year

FILE – In this Oct. 8, 2018, file photo, Ohio Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine answers questions from the media in the spin room following a debate with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray at Cleveland State University, in Cleveland. Locked in a tight race for governor in the perennial swing state of Ohio, DeWine and Cordray are using the final stretch to hedge their bets on Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Angelo Merendino, File)

On Sunday, the governor of Ohio made a pretty eyebrow-raising remark: He won’t be surprised if the 2019-20 school year is just over and done with.

As you know, schools have been closing around Spring Break thanks to coronavirus concern.

But Gov. Mike DeWine thinks the whole rest of the semester may just be a bust.

Mike appeared on CNN’s State of the Union with substitute host Brianna Keiler to talk about protection against the spread of the Wuhan flu.

In Ohio, no one so far has died of the illness.

And they’re taking substantial measures to keep it that way, including closing all public, private, and charter schools K-12 for three weeks.

But Brianna pointed out that, according to the CDC, “school closures of 2-4 weeks are actually unlikely to have an impact on mitigating the spread of this virus.”

Therefore, might Ohio schools possibly be closed for the rest of the year?

Mike hit it straight on:

“Absolutely.”

The odds are "this is going to go on a lot longer and it would not surprise me at all if schools did not open again this year,” Ohio @GovMikeDeWine says about the long-term impact of the coronavirus. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/i0luWcQVzX

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) March 15, 2020

Odds are…

“This is all projections. I’m just going by what medical experts are telling us. This may not peak until the latter part of April or May. So, we’ve informed the superintendents while we closed schools for three weeks, that the odds are this is going to go on a lot longer and it would not surprise me at all if schools did not open again this year.”

Wow. I can’t imagine being a kid in school and then all of a sudden, BAM– it’s just over.

Say hello to an Endless Summer.

I’d be sure it was the greatest thing to ever have happened to me.

I can’t imagine how glad all those kids would be to know they’re getting over two extra months to ride their bikes, play outside, explore the neighborhood, go hang out with friends…

Oh, wait — nevermind. They’ll just be sitting down, looking at their phones.

Same thing they would’ve done in class.

#LostInTranslation

But if they did go out, how dangerous would it be?

At a news conference Friday, Gov. Mike announced that Ohio was looking at 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19: 12 women and 14 mean. Furthermore, seven people had been hospitalized.

And as part of the fight: Gatherings of more than 100 people would be temporarily banned.

But in case you’re wondering: Airports, workplaces, restaurants, religious gatherings, weddings, funerals, and some other events are exempted.

It’s a good thing Ohio’s being proactive: As of Sunday, the number of coronavirus cases had risen to 36.

What a wondrous time it is right now…so many strange things going on. 50 is the new 40, and toilet paper is the new Big Hugs Elmo. People are trying to find it in stores like: