Kent State announced Friday face-to-face classes at all of its campuses will be suspended for the remainder of the semester because of the coronavirus. 

President Todd Diacon wrote in an email to the Kent State community that students will continue their classes remotely for the rest of the semester and encouraged those still on campus to return to their homes. 

Students who vacate their dorms by March 30 will receive “an appropriate refund” for their rooms and meal plans, according to the email.  

The university will work with students who cannot return home on an individual basis, according to the email. A limited number of residences halls and dining halls will remain open for these students. 

Decisions regarding the 50th Commemoration of May 4 and spring commencement will come at a later time. 

Staffing of each unit will continue as currently in place; however, if reasonable employee needs so dictate, on-site staffing may be reduced.

Faculty will still be able to use their offices and labs while continuing to practice social distancing. 

Kent State’s decision came after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a ban on gatherings of more than 100 people during a news conference on Thursday and estimated the spread of the coronavirus to peak between late April and mid-May. 

The university previously announced Tuesday that in-person classes would be suspended through April 12 in light of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 137,000 people and killed more than 5,000 worldwide, according to the Associated Press. 

Thirteen cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ohio, but no cases have been associated with Kent State. Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton estimated in a news conference on Thursday that more than 100,000 Ohioans carry the coronavirus.

Contact Paige Bennett at [email protected].