Officials address cancellations, concerns amid COVID-19 spread

Organizations and institutions across Nebraska are taking precautionary measures amidst concerns about COVID-19.

While no cases have been reported in Antelope, Holt or Wheeler counties, the North Central District Health Department has identified a presumptive positive case in Knox County. NCDHD received notification a Cherry County individual tested negative for the disease.

Here is a list of cancellations, as of Friday, March 13:

Fish fries

On Thursday, the Archdiocese of Omaha requested its parishes cancel all fish fries until further notice. According to the archdiocese website, the request came about after "the Douglas County Health Department expressed grave concerns about the spread of coronavirus at parish fish fries and recommends they be canceled. We support their recommendation and ask for the cancellation of fish fries throughout the Archdiocese of Omaha until further notice."

Organizers of the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church fish fry notified the Advocate-Messenger Thursday afternoon, noting the March 27 event at the rural Clearwater church is on hold, due to the archdiocese request.

Catholic Mass

In addition to concerns with fish fries, the archdiocese released a lengthy list of precautions for pastors and parish administrators to consider for the celebration of Mass, including reminding worshipers to refrain from attending Mass if they have flu-like symptoms, draining holy water fonts, distributing only bread during Holy Communion, eliminating the sign of peace and hand-holding during the Our Father and sanitizing door handles, pews and vessels used in the worship service at the conclusion of each Mass.

School Classes

During a 10 a.m. press conference Friday at the State Capitol, Gov. Pete Ricketts said if the coronavirus spreads to the community at large, he could order the closing of schools for six to eight weeks in a region affected by COVID-19.

According to the governor, two scenarios of spread could lead to the decision to close school. If health officials determine that 1% of the population in a region contracts the disease, school closure would be necessary.

The other scenario would be if two confirmed cases of coronavirus in the community cannot be traced to a known case, including overseas travel.

School-related activities

On Friday, Clearwater Close-Up advisor Dan Roeber confirmed students would not be traveling to Washington, D.C. Students were scheduled to leave Sunday for the week-long educational trip.

Roeber said there are options in the future, but he is "waiting for details and discussion with students, parents and administrators."

According to a statement on the Nebraska School Activities Association website, posted Friday, "Many of our member schools are making decisions in the best interest of their student participants, coaches and communities. The NSAA is regretfully suspending district and state speech contests until further notice.

"This is an unprecedented event. The NSAA Board of Directors and staff understand the hardship this has created for our membership. The NSAA will use this time to evaluate potential alternatives and the next steps for moving forward."

On Thursday, the Nebraska Department of Education canceled all career and technical student organization state leadership conferences and conventions.

This includes Future Business Leaders of America, Family Career and Community Leaders of America, SkillsUSA, FFA, HOSA, Educators Rising and DECA.

In a statement, NDE said, "In light of current health concerns and precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all CTSO 2020 State Leadership Conferences/Conventions."

The department created a school closure webpage, https://www.education.ne.gov/publichealth/known-school-closures. Friday, NDE shared recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding school closures, noting closures are based on available data from local health officials. Mandated school closures will be cased on community spread cases.

Colleges

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced Thursday in-person classes will not be held for the remainder of the semester to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus. Chancellor Ronnie Green announced the university will cancel classes March 16 to 20, a week ahead of the scheduled spring break.

On March 30, all spring semester classes will be taught remotely.

UNO will follow suit. Chancellor Jeffrey Gold said Thursday classes will continue through March 13 and "thereafter go into remote teaching and learning mode."

At the University of Nebraska-Kearney, classes will continue on campus March 16 to 20, with courses moved to online instruction for the remainder of the semester.

Dormitories at all three sites will remain open, although students are urged to return home.

Northeast Community College is noting its spring break until March 22. Faculty and staff are to report March 16 for normal operations. Students living in campus housing are encouraged to return home to minimize the risk of exposure. All Northeast events and activities at any NECC location are suspended, as of 8 a.m., March 13, through March 22.

Nebraska State Colleges, includiing Wayne, Peru and Chadron, will extend spring break an additional week.

All fully online courses will continue to meet as originally scheduled, including those set to begin March 16.

At this time, WSC officials "anticipate classes will resume March 23," per an announcement on the college's website.

Classes for all Doane University campuses are canceled, March 16 to 22. Classes will resume March 23, in an online format and be taught online for the remainder of the semester.