COLUMBUS, Ohio— To minimize the spread of the coronavirus, health experts have recommended canceling in-person college classes, banning spectators from sporting events and concerts, and temporarily keeping away visitors to Ohio prisons, among other measures, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday.

“Were now at a critical time here in Ohio in regard to the coronavirus,” he said. “The decisions that we make as individuals in the next few days, the next several weeks will really determine how many lives are going be lost in Ohio.”

He added that the state’s collective response -- not just government but private businesses -- will have a direct impact on how long Ohio’s epidemic will be. The virus so far has infected nearly 117,000 people worldwide, including three Ohioans.

Ohio State University has already canceled face-to-face classes through at least March 30. DeWine recommended other schools do the same, as well as screen all students who return to the U.S. after spending Spring Break abroad.

Health experts have also advised the Ohio High School Athletic Association to prohibit any spectators, save parents, from attending indoor high-school sports games, DeWine said. Outdoor events can continue, the governor added, with the understanding that that could change.

“It’s not something that anyone enjoys talking about,” DeWine said. “I certainly don’t enjoy saying it, nor envisioning sports events without spectators.”

As for professional sports – such as Major League Baseball, whose season is about to start – DeWine said experts believe that fans gathering in alleys or streets “is a recipe for disaster.” He recommended that the NCAA not allow fans or non-essential personnel to attend March Madness games scheduled to take place in Ohio later this month.

The same goes for parades, the governor said. DeWine said he doesn’t have the authority to cancel Cleveland’s popular St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

However, DeWine said the Columbus Blue Jackets have argued that the ventilation system at Nationwide Arena moves air quickly enough to minimize risk to fans. The governor said he has taken that answer back to health professionals for their advice.

All of these are recommendations, not orders, DeWine emphasized.

For now, no visitors will be allowed in Ohio prisons, DeWine said. The governor said he understands this step is difficult to families of incarcerated people, and said he hoped it will be temporary. “This is an action that we needed to take.” The governor also asked nursing homes to step up screening of visitors to keep out sick people.

The governor’s office has asked state agencies and departments to look at whether their employees can work remotely from home, DeWine said.

Health experts have recommended not closing K-12 schools in Ohio at this time, DeWine said. But he added that school teachers, staff, and parents should prepare for the possibility of that happening in the future.

The update comes a day after the governor disclosed the first three cases of the deadly virus in Ohio, all of whom are suburban Cuyahoga County residents in their 50s. Two are a couple who recently returned from a Nile River cruise; the third is an employee of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland who attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference earlier this month, where two other attendees have tested positive for the virus.

DeWine has declared a state of emergency in Ohio, which allows him to operate government in some ways that are not usual under the law, such as obtaining medical supplies without competitive bidding.

Besides the three confirmed cases, 15 people in Ohio are being tested for coronavirus, according to the state health department. Another 14 people in the state have tested negative for the disease so far.

An additional 255 people in Ohio are or have been under public health supervision, which means they have been self-quarantined because they have recently returned from a country with a high number of infections.

Read more on the coronavirus:

-- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recommends Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders cancel Cleveland rallies to prevent coronavirus spread

-- Ohio is under a state of emergency because of the coronavirus. What does that mean?

-- Could Ohio shut down travel for coronavirus quarantine?

-- Cuyahoga County opens emergency operations center in response to coronavirus