Coronavirus: Nearly 300,000 students to stay home due to school cancellations

School districts in Washington, Tennessee and New York have announced closures

Schools in Washington, Tennessee and New York have announced long term closures for K-12 students – from kindergarten to the 12th grade – in efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

At least 276,669 students will be home from school as a result of the closures.

According to CNN, Washington State has at least eight school districts closing, affecting at least 128,174 students.

The Seattle, Lake Washington and Shoreline school districts began their long term closures today.

At least 100,000 students will stay home in Tennessee due to the closing of the Shelby County School District.

In New York, three schools in the New Rochelle school district will be closed through 25 March. New Rochelle is the centre of a National Guard containment zone due to an unusually high number of cases in the region. Westchester County, where New Rochelle is located, made up for nearly half of the confirmed cases in the state.

The closures are the latest in a series of major cancellations due to the virus.

The NBA suspended the rest of its 2019-2020 season on Wednesday after Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19. His teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for the virus.

On the same day, New York City, Boston, Chicago and Dublin were among some of the cities that cancelled their famed St Patrick’s Day parades and festivities.

Viking Cruises have cancelled all of their scheduled trips over the virus, while Princess Cruises – which has already had several cruises disrupted by the outbreak – is suspending its operations for the next 60 days.

In Kentucky, the governor is asking for churches to cancel their services, while in Texas, the Houston Rodeo has shut down and major entertainment expos E3 and SXSW have cancelled their events this year.