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Ohio State announces plan for return to campus this fall; no decision on football

The first day of classes is set for Tuesday, Aug. 25 and the last day will be Friday, Dec. 4.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University announced that it plans to resume in-person classes for the fall semester.

The university said specific guidelines will be announced in the coming weeks based on state and local health authorities and recommendations from the university's COVID-19 Transition Task Force.

According to the university, the return to campus will include a combination of face covering, physical distancing, hand hygiene, limited density in indoor spaces, control of the flow of traffic into and around buildings, continued employee teleworking when possible, testing, symptoms tracking and contact tracing.

"We are dedicated to continuing our core mission, including providing the best possible college experience for our students while operating under a set of circumstances that no one has experienced before," President Michael Drake said.

The academic calendar will be adjusted as well with the first day of classes is set for Tuesday, Aug. 25 and the last day will be Friday, Dec. 4. The last day of in-person, on-campus instruction will be Wednesday, Nov. 25.

The last week of classes and final exams will be done through distance learning.

The university will also reduce population density in the residence halls.

In regard to athletics, the university said leaders are working on a plan for student-athletes to resume practice and competition.

Final plans will be subject to decisions made by the Big Ten Conference, NCAA and health officials.

"Regarding football, our hope and intention is to safely have a football season, with an audience spaced out in our stadium, but we haven't made any final decisions," Drake said.

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