The Coronavirus Brief: What school closures could mean for families across the U.S.

And more of today's COVID-19 news |

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Monday, March 16, 2020 BY SANYA MANSOOR How School Closures Are Exposing America’s Divisions As colleges and schools across the country transition to online learning in response to the coronavirus outbreak, many students are struggling with a lack of access to the technology they need to keep up. School leaders say the disease has caused an “unprecedented crisis.” TIME reporter Katie Reilly spoke with school administrators, teachers, students and parents about the challenges ahead for students who do not possess computers and reliable internet. “As this virus started to spread, there were a lot of people who said just move classes online and let kids learn from home — but due to unequal access to internet and technology across the country, it’s really not that simple,” Reilly says. About 15% of U.S. households with school-aged children don’t have high-speed internet access at home, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2015 U.S. Census Bureau Data. Thousands of students have seen their colleges cancel in-person classes and transition to online learning. K-12 schools are undergoing big changes, too. As of Friday night, at least 46,000 K-12 schools were closed, scheduled to close or had closed briefly for deep cleaning or other reasons, affecting at least 26 million students. The New York City Public School System — the largest in the nation — temporarily shut down as of Monday. The district will be training teachers this week for remote learning and trying to get laptops to students who don’t have them, Reilly says. “It’s going to be a big lift in New York City and also in many other districts,” but, she adds, school officials are taking the issue seriously. The lack of in-classroom learning will likely be particularly challenging for special education students. One special education teacher for kindergarteners and first graders in Virginia sent her students home with supplies to make online learning easier if it happens, including crayons, glue, scissors, a whiteboard, expo markers and Play-Doh. Read more here. TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK More than 20 new countries and territories — many of them in Africa — reported their first COVID-19 cases over the weekend. The COVID-19 worldwide death toll has surpassed 6,700 and more than 174,000 people have been infected. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said at a Monday media briefing that social distancing and good hygiene measures can help reduce the disease’s spread but they do not make up for a lack of testing. “We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. Test every suspected COVID-19 case, Tedros said. “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected.” Around the world, France and Spain took a page from Italy’s playbook as they moved to enact a strict lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Apple has temporarily closed all its retail stores outside China. The Peace Corps is evacuating all of its volunteers across the world. Alibaba’s Jack Ma has prepared 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to be sent to the U.S. Some quarantined Italian residents have turned to collectively singing on their balconies to find some solace in these uncertain times. In the U.S., President Donald Trump announced he tested negative for COVID-19 and urged Americans to stop hoarding food. States and major cities, including Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Ohio and New York, have ordered bars and restaurants to close. Coronavirus concerns dominated the Democratic debate. The stock market is in “panic mode ” again and movie ticket sales are at their lowest levels in two decades. One member of Congress offered advice that conflicted with the public health directive to practice social distancing, encouraging “healthy” people to visit local restaurants. See full, interactive versions of these maps and charts. All numbers are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of March 15, 8 PM eastern time. WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW Are You at Higher Risk for Coronavirus If You Have Asthma? The World Health Organization says yes. But experts tell TIME there is little definitive evidence to say whether asthma increases the likelihood of catching the virus or of experiencing more severe illness. Read more here. Delivery Drivers in China Are Risking Their Health to Keep the Country Running After sweeping containment measures by the Chinese government, many residents order everything from toilet paper to piping hot noodles online and rely on drivers to bring these goods to their homes. Read more here. U.S. State and City Officials Say They Will Act Urgently Amid a Sluggish Federal Response State and local authorities are trading ideas about ending utility cutoffs and stopping evictions. “There’s just no guidance” from the federal government, says Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Read more here. Here’s How Coronavirus Could Bring You Paid Leave Benefits Congress has started hashing out details on a paid leave policy following concerns that not everyone can afford to follow public health advice to stay home if they are sick. Read more here. Attorneys Worry an Immigrant Detention Center in Washington Could Suffer an Outbreak Immigration attorneys say it’s “only a matter of time” before a coronavirus outbreak festers at a Washington State immigrant detention center. Read more here. Transportation Workers Are Struggling as U.S. Travel Providers Cut Back on Services Travel to—and throughout—the U.S. has rapidly dropped in recent days. What does that mean for airline, cruise, shipping and ride-sharing industries? Read more here. Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.

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