Visitation is restricted

Strict hospital visitation restrictions are in place.

Jay Schools are closed.

Fort Recovery schools will follow Tuesday.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is coming into play, as IU Health imposed extensive visitor restrictions Sunday and students experience their first day of a planned month off of regular classes today.

The World Health Organization reports nearly 165,000 cases of COVID-19 as of this morning, 6,470 of which have resulted in death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes 1,629 cases with 41 deaths in the United States. Indiana and Ohio have 24 and 37 confirmed cases, respectively, though Indiana State Health Commissioner Kris Box has said the real numbers are likely far higher because of limited testing.

IU Health announced Saturday morning that beginning Sunday visitors to its facilities will be extremely limited. In general, no visitors will be allowed, though exceptions will be considered to allow one visitor in the case of patients in the neo-natal intensive care unit, obstetrics/delivery, pediatrics, emergency and outpatient surgery areas, as well as at Riley Hospital for Children. Patients in end-of-life situations will be allowed two visitors.

Additional restrictions for IU Health doctor’s offices in the east-central region, including IU Health Jay, were announced today. Patients who have appointments are encouraged to come along. They will be screened for coronavirus and will need to reschedule if they do not pass the screening. (One adult companion may accompany the patient, if necessary, but will also need to pass the screening.)

For additional information about the restrictions and the IU Health screening process, go to bit.ly/IUHealthrestrictions.



Today marked the first day of closure for Jay Schools through April 10, a decision announced Friday following a recommendation from Jay County Health Department. (Each of the adjacent school districts in Indiana — South Adams, Southern Wells, Blackford, Delaware Community, Monroe Central, Randolph Central (Winchester) and Randolph Eastern (Union City) are also closed.)

Three e-learning days, which were already prepared before Friday’s announcement, are being used today, Tuesday and Wednesday. The corporation will use waiver days — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb last week granted school corporations 20 waiver days to be used in response to the pandemic — on Thursday and Friday.

Next week, March 23 through 27, was already scheduled as spring break and will remain as such. Extended e-learning and waivers on an every-other-day basis will follow with e-learning March 30 and April 1, 3, 7 and 9, and waiver March 31 and April 2, 6 and 8. April 10 was already scheduled as a day off of school.

“Our intent behind that was to break it up; don’t stack all of e-learning side by side,” Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley said last week. “It’s intended to relieve some stress and strain on our parents, teachers and students.”

Beginning Wednesday, “grab and go” lunches will be available to all students from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays in the parking lots at Jay County High School, East Jay Middle School and Westlawn, Redkey, Pennville and Bloomfield elementary schools. Because of federal guidelines, the student must be present in order to receive a meal.

The corporation is working on a plan to have meals available during spring break as well.

Gulley plans to propose additional measures regarding employees at tonight’s regularly scheduled school board meeting, which has been moved to Jay County High School in order to better accommodate social distancing.

The procedure for the school corporation, Gulley said, is to hold a daily meeting with directors (transportation, food service, technology, etc.) at 8:30 a.m. followed by a daily principal’s meeting at 10 a.m. He said he plans to provide daily updates to the public, probably at 3 p.m., though those may be less frequent during spring break (March 23 through 27) when school was already planned to not be in session.

He said plans are also in the works to create a specific website to handle issues regarding e-learning during the coronavirus outbreak. (Already the school corporation has informed parents that if a Chromebook is not working properly, it can be dropped off at the main office at Jay County High School.)

Thus far, Gulley said the reaction and response so far have been “smooth.”

“Because we planned,” he added. “We got out ahead of this and made sure our parents knew what to expect from a closure — three days of e-learning, two days waived. That gave us time to continue to plan through spring break and afterward.

“So, very smooth. Orderly. … And fairly quiet.”

Fort Recovery schools are in session today but will then be closed until April 3 as mandated by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Following that mandate and Ohio Department of Education tasking schools with “continuing the educational process via an alternate method,” Mercer County districts developed a unified plan. Fort Recovery will have regular e-days — those that were already planned for possible school closures for weather or other reasons — Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by “emergency remote learning” beginning Thursday. Additional details were to be presented today.

All Fort Recovery school facilities, including the student activity center, will be closed following classes today through April 3. Plans are being developed to provide lunch to students while schools are closed.

Portland City Hall and Redkey Town Hall are both closed to the public. Dunkirk City Building will be closed beginning Tuesday. Those who need to pay utility bills can do so via a drop box, over the phone or online at paygov.us.

IU Health continues to offer COVID-19 screenings through its free virtual clinic. Patients can enroll online at iuhealthvideovisit.org or download the free IU Health Virtual Visits app to a mobile device. They would then select “Coronavirus Screen” and provide the necessary information to receive a virtual screening from a physician, advance practice provider or registered nurse.

Indiana Michigan Power has announced that it is temporarily suspending all disconnections for non-payment during the outbreak. Those with questions should call (800) 311-4634.

Click here for our full list of cancelations.