WHEELING — Local colleges and universities in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle have formed task forces to determine how to respond to the potential spread of the coronavirus, although no schools in the Northern Panhandle have altered their class schedules.

While no cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, had been confirmed in West Virginia as of late Wednesday, the fluidity of the situation has caught the attention of higher education leaders. Larger colleges, such as West Virginia University, Ohio University including its Eastern campus in Belmont County and Marietta College, all announced Tuesday they will be offering only online classes in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

While online courses remain an option for the smaller schools in the Northern Panhandle, none said they plan to go that route, at least not immediately.

Wheeling University announced Tuesday it had formed a task force “in an effort to protect the health and wellness of the faculty, staff and students” should any confirmed cases of coronavirus be detected locally. The university said the task force would meet later this week and plans to be in regular contact with federal, state and local health authorities.

“In addition to providing its members an opportunity to share resources, the task force will be a clearinghouse of information to the Wheeling University campus community, allowing the University to accomplish its primary goal, which is to protect the health and safety of our students,” school officials said in a statement. “While we are confident the risk to our campus and community is low, it’s incumbent upon the University to ensure we are doing everything possible to safeguard the men and women who call Wheeling University their home.”

Wheeling University officials did not respond to questions on whether they plan to move courses or programs online to limit person-to-person exposure.

West Liberty University has taken similar steps with its critical incident response team, which has met regularly in recent days. University spokeswoman Maureen Zambito said the team is in contact with local health officials and Ohio County Emergency Management Director Lou Vargo.

“They work as a team to assess issues of any sort and plan for any potential issues,” Zambito said. “We have no issues at this time, so it’s only discussions.”

The team has discussed what precautions the university should take, including regular cleaning of the facilities.

“Our cleaning staff has been taking extra care to properly sterilize campus,” Zambito said. “We’re doing everything we can to stay on top of it.”

She said there is “no imminent step to change to go online” to finish the semester.

“Of course, we ask everyone to stay home when you’re sick,” she said.

David Barnhardt, spokesman for West Virginia Northern Community College, said its task force has met on a regular basis for weeks and remains in contact with local health officials. WVNCC has taken “extra measures” that include cleaning and disinfecting classrooms and facilities at the college’s three campuses in Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville.

“Certainly, we’re monitoring things very closely and coming up with contingency plans, should it be necessary to enact upon those,” Barnhardt said. “Obviously, it’s extremely fluid, whereas last week it was changing day-to-day, now it seems to be changing hourly.”

While Barnhardt said moving classes to an online format eventually could be an option at WVNCC, the hands-on nature of some of the college’s technical courses could present a logistical issue.

“It makes it extra challenging with hands-on training and how you handle that,” Barnhardt said. “It’s makes it a little more difficult than you have with a typical class.”

All of the local colleges have said they’re trying to communicate with students, staff and faculty to keep them informed if the situation changes. All posted information on their websites explaining precautions and procedures.

Bethany College officials said they were monitoring the situation, but classes would continue on campus this Monday after students return from spring break.

“The administration is in contact with the community sharing updates and will be providing guidance regarding returning to campus,” college officials said in a written statement.