CLEVELAND, Ohio — A majority of high school officials across Ohio prefer to stay the course with fall sports, at least beginning with low/non-contact sports as scheduled, according to a survey conducted by the Ohio High School Athletic Association and shared Wednesday night with schools.

The survey asked six questions of athletic directors, superintendents and principals to gauge their thoughts on playing sports this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.

The OHSAA received at least 1,498 responses to each question. Some questions received more answers. The OHSAA has 817 high schools and 873 middle schools in its membership.

Of the six questions, the most lopsided answer is that 1,330-of-1,499 respondents said they do not believe any student or adult tested positive for COVID-19 as the result of participation in an on-campus activity.

The question with no clear answer relates to scrimmages.

Of 1,500 to respond, 589 said they are in favor of at least one scrimmage for contact sports. While 455 have no preference, 466 said they are in favor of no scrimmages.

The OHSAA informed schools Tuesday it suspended scrimmages for contact sports, including football, during August.

On the topic of moving fall contact sports (such as football) to the spring and low/non-contact spring sports (baseball) to the fall, only 17 percent of school officials favored the idea. Forty percent favored beginning all sports as planned, while 31.4 percent favor delaying the start until when and if conditions change.

Also, a majority of those surveyed preferred shortening their sports’ regular seasons while keeping the postseason intact.

Here are the full results from the OHSAA survey:

Gov. Mike DeWine is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Thursday in Columbus, and he or Lt. Gov Jon Husted are expected to provide an update on the status of sports entering the fall. When asked Tuesday about it, he declined to comment on the state’s expiring contact sports order.

“These are tough calls for coaches, parents, and the governor,” DeWine said.

Ohio reported 1,122 hospitalized patients on Tuesday, a daily high since the pandemic began in March. The state reported 1,396 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health is considering a county-wide recommendation to start schools with remote learning this fall.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com).