Gov. Mike DeWine called for indoor athletic events to allow only athletes, parents, and others essential to the event on Tuesday. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor

Coronavirus restrictions on campus are rapidly changing, including those around athletic events.

Gov. Mike DeWine tweeted at 2:36 p.m. Tuesday asking that indoor athletic events allow only athletes, parents, and others essential to the event, and in accordance with DeWine’s announcement, the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced it will limit spectators at events — including some high school athletic events hosted by Ohio State.

Earlier in the morning, the Ohio High School Athletic Association had planned to continue its upcoming tournaments hosted at Ohio State as scheduled, according to a statement released on its website Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. Ohio State will assess other tournaments on an individual basis, Ben Johnson, university spokesperson, said in an email.

St. John Arena is scheduled to host the high school girls’ state championship basketball tournament Thursday through Saturday, and the Schottenstein Center is scheduled to host the individual state wrestling tournament Friday through Sunday. The Schottenstein Center is also scheduled to host the high school boys’ state championship basketball tournament March 19 – 21.

Ohio State is encouraging event organizers of non-essential events to evaluate whether the event should continue in person, University President Michael V. Drake said in a universitywide email sent Monday.

The university also announced in the email that due to the outbreak, all in-person classes are suspended until at least March 30, and no new, non-essential events will be scheduled until April 20.

“We will continue to evaluate events and will share plans prior to April 20 to either end the restrictions early or, if needed, extend them,” the email said. “As mentioned, the situation is evolving daily. All guidelines are subject to change as emerging events warrant.”

The 2019 Division 1 boys’ basketball state championship final drew 8,675 people, according to the OHSAA website. The Division 2 final drew 9,881 people, the Division 3 final drew 7,714 people and the Division Four final drew 9,105 people.

The first four sessions of the tournament, which hosted semifinal rounds for all four divisions, drew a total of 42,339 people according to the OHSAA website. The total attendance for the 2019 girls’ basketball state championship tournament was 36,298, according to the OHSAA website. The total attendance for the 2019 boys’ wrestling state championship tournament was 54,797 people.

At the time of publication, there were 808 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 28 deaths in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. Ohio has three confirmed cases.

The OHSAA said it encourages fans and teams to take the extra precautions they recommended, as well as the ones provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.