COLUMBUS – Graduation season may be short on pomp and circumstance in Ohio due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened over 17,000 people in the state.
Gov. Mike DeWine has clarified that high school graduations in Ohio’s 612 school districts can’t be permitted if they amount to mass gatherings.
“When we look at whether or not to hold a graduation ceremony, social distancing and keeping social distance practices must be first and foremost,” he said during his daily televised news briefing Wednesday.
The most preferred option to a live commencement ceremony is a virtual one, conducted online.
The next-best option is a drive-in ceremony where students drive to a designated location at a designated time to get their diplomas.
Another alternative is an outdoor ceremony with 10 people or less who are socially distanced.
Governor DeWine also stressed that any graduation parties cannot exceed 10 people in one space.
Ohio State University will award more than 12,000 diplomas during its virtual commencement ceremony on Sunday.
A pre-ceremony program with special messages from graduates and deans in Ohio State’s colleges will be livestreamed beginning at 11:30 a.m. with the hour-long commencement ceremony following at noon. The ceremony will include a virtual commencement address delivered by Apple CEO Tim Cook.
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There are 17,303 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 937 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths.
Franklin County, with 2,216 cases, leads the state while three central Ohio counties are among the top four, including Marion (2,196) and Pickaway (1,722) due to numerous cases confirmed by widespread testing in two state prisons.