In response to the spread of the coronavirus throughout the state of Washington, school closures around Seattle aim to stem the expansion of COVID-19.

The Northshore School District, located just north of the city, closed Tuesday. Teachers prepare to conduct lessons remotely for their 22,000 students. The superintendent of that district also sent a letter stating plans to assist students without internet access.

Additionally, the Eastside Prep private school located in Kirkland took similar measures. Its students will take online courses at home, as well. They plan their suspension of campus classes until March 27.

However, these school closures counter Seattle Public School’s response to the outbreak. They plan to remain open while closely monitoring the situation.

Health officials haven’t called for school closures, though respect the decision of these districts to do so.

The school closures follow news that the coronavirus went undetected in the state for as much as six weeks prior to the first diagnosis. Now, 39 cases reside within Washington. The State Department of Health also announced the 10th death due to the coronavirus Wednesday morning.

Vice President Mike Pence visits with Governor Jay Inslee this week to discuss measures in the state most affected by the coronavirus.

Presently, cases in the United States number 149. The ten deaths pair with 1 in California for a total of 11 in the country. However, as testing efforts expand, officials expect to see the number of cases increase.

Comparatively, cases across the globe total 95,111 with 3,252 deaths. The vast majority of those remain in China, where the outbreak began.

Over half of all cases made full recoveries, totalling 51,435. Health officials explain the virus proves fatal generally only to those with underlying health issues, such as chronic lung or heart disease.

rtp slot